


It Just Makes Sense, Doesn't It?

by Oh_i_swear



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: A/B/O, Alpha Beta Omega, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Sex, Bonding, Everything Turns out happy in the end, Fake Dating, Fake Relationship, Family Drama, Idiots in Love, M/M, Marvellously Knotty Bang, Mating, Mpreg, Omega Bucky Barnes, Omega Verse, Oral Sex, Really Bad Ideas, Sam Wilson Is Done With This Shit, Some angst, Stucky - Freeform, Teacher Steve Rogers, asshole bosses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:34:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29783784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oh_i_swear/pseuds/Oh_i_swear
Summary: Steve Rogers has always been a good guy and a soft touch where kids are concerned.  So what's a guy like that to do when his childhood best friend turns up pregnant and terrified about what that means given that he's not even in a relationship with the Alpha concerned, not to mention the guy in question has a somewhat shady reputation?Clearly, the answer is to pretend the child is his, ignoring entirely the fact he's always had a soft spot for his best friend.Well, it just makes sense, doesn't it?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 147
Kudos: 183





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> \- So this is the start of my fic for the  Marvelously Knotty Bang which I clearly had to join in with because we all know I cannot resist a good ABO, or an excuse to write Mpreg.  
> \- The storyline for this came together in a dream – quite literally I woke up with the whole thing fully formed so… blame my subconscious I guess.  
> \- Thank you to the lovely  Arsonette for helping with this all the way <3  
> \- Also a huge thanks to my lovely artist [ Emmatheslayer](%E2%80%9D) for coming along for the ride and producing some gorgeous art to go with this!

S T E V E 

Steve Rogers didn’t exactly have exciting Friday night plans. He’d finished his day at school, made his way home and then settled himself down to get through his grading so that the rest of his weekend would be his. Sure, a lot of guys his age would be out on a Friday night at a bar or whatever, but whilst Steve enjoyed a beer in his own time that really wasn’t much his scene, and besides that his best friend, Sam Wilson, was out of town so he’d be doing it alone if he did it tonight. No thank you. Drinking alone definitely didn't have the same appeal.

When he eventually looked up and glanced at the time having finally finished his grading, he smiled to himself, stretching out the aches from hours of being hunched over his desk. The pizza he had ordered should be here pretty soon and he really did feel like it was pretty damn well deserved. Anyone who thought a teacher’s day was over when the school bell rang really needed to come and do the job for a year or two. That wasn’t to say Steve disliked his job because he didn’t – he loved it – but it was hard work.

He stood up from the desk he had in his second bedroom and stretched more languorously before gathering the marked papers and putting them safely back in the bag he used to carry his things to and from his classroom just as he heard a knock at the door.

Perfect timing, he thought to himself.

Leaving the spare bedroom-turned-part-time-office, he grabbed his wallet from where he’d thrown it down on his coffee table earlier that evening and walked to his apartment door, opening it without bothering to check who was on the other side. In his defense, he was pretty sure it would be the pizza delivery guy, after all. Who turns up unannounced on a Friday night?

But it wasn’t the pizza guy.

Steve’s mouth dropped open, because instead of a guy bearing a pizza box and some sides there stood Steve’s childhood best friend, Bucky Barnes. The same Bucky Barnes who should be out in DC – having moved out there a year ago now for work– and very much _not_ stood on Steve’s doorstep here in New York City.

“Bucky?” he asked, almost checking that the man in front of him was real – as if Steve could imagine anything this real. Or mistake him at all, with those velvety eyes and the soft brunette hair, or that scent like fresh laundry and jasmine – soft, sweet and intimately familiar to Steve after all the years of being so damn close – albeit not as close as Steve had wanted to be.

“The one and only,” he replied dryly. “I… sorry I didn’t tell you I’d be coming on our call last week, it’s just that things have changed pretty drastically since then and I… I’m really sorry to do this to you, Stevie, but I needed somewhere safe to go. Can I come in?”

Steve stepped aside numbly, watching as the man came into his space before shaking himself back to nearly normal. Yes it was a shock to have his best friend turn up out of the blue but it was _Bucky_ and after so long of having to contend himself with phone calls and video chats he was _here_ and he just couldn't help this hitch in his hormones at the excitement of that. Until he saw the look on Bucky's face.

“Buck, you do know you’re always welcome, right?” He asked, for lieu of anything better to say. Bucky looked like a scared animal, almost pacing the front room of his apartment. This wasn't normal Bucky behaviour and he hoped that Bucky would actually start whatever conversation they were about to have and explain to him what was actually going on. If he didn't get it off his chest Steve worried he was going to implode in some way. Whatever it was, it was significant enough for Bucky to have flown, or driven, or whatever, across the country and end up standing on Steve’s doorstep with nothing but the rucksack on his back And that haunted look in his eyes.

Bucky turned, standing in Steve’s living room and looking more awkward than Steve had ever seen him in, though he had at least shed the rucksack and put it down on the floor next to him. “I mean, it’s all a bit awkward,” he admitted, and Steve could see he didn’t really know what to say. 

“What is? Do you need somewhere to stay? You know you’re welcome here,” Steve asked cautiously, going for the easiest thing to offer, knowing that in some ways they were the hardest to ask for. Bucky had to know he was welcome here, but sometimes there was a difference in knowing that, and hearing it. 

“I mean, I do, but it’s more than that,” he said, shifting his weight from foot to foot in a restless way. “Look, Steve… can we sit down?”

“I wasn’t sure why you were standing up anyway,” Steve nodded, trying to coax a bit of humour out of the situation, a bit of normalcy with his friend, but still absolutely mystified about what was actually going on here. “Can I get you anything to drink? I’ve got coffee, or beer, or just a coke? And pizza should be here soon and you know I always order too much…”

Bucky gave him a look. “I’m good, Stevie, stop fretting, please – just… will you just sit down so I can talk to you? We can sort out drinks after...you might need one” 

A little surprised at the insistence Steve nodded dumbly, sitting himself down on the couch whilst Bucky took the small arm chair. “So, I don’t really know how to tell you what I need to tell you and I’m sorry again for just turning up like this. I was going to call, but I didn’t know what to say on the phone and… well. I guess that’s irrelevant now I’m here.”

Steve gave him a small smile and nodded, deliberately staying quiet. After telling him to stop fretting it seemed that now Bucky had started, rambling with obvious nervous energy.

Bucky took a deep breath and seemed to centre himself before starting in on what was obviously the meat of the matter “So anyway, things were going pretty well out in DC as you know – things are busy at SHIELD security and my promotion was going well. Well, it _was_ going well until I kinda fucked up during my last Heat,” he said, wincing and his cheeks colouring.

“Oh shit, what happened?” Steve asked, his mind immediately running through various worst case scenarios, ranging from sleeping with someone inappropriate to going into Heat suddenly in the middle of the working day and several other options in between.

“I went to an Omega heat club – and I swear down Stevie, it’s a first and last time for it. I just… I don’t even know what possessed me. I guess I’ve been so busy with work I’ve had a really long dry spell and the Heat before this was practically unbearable. Like, something in me knew toys weren’t going to help with it this time, and I figured why not, you know? You have to prove you’re on contraceptives and clean when you sign in, it’s a night or so to work through the worst of it, and their Alphas are all checked out in the same way. It seemed like a really low risk way to have something with no commitment, exactly what I wanted” he explained. 

As he spoke Steve fought not to wince – the idea of Bucky going somewhere like that felt sordid and it itched at Steve’s sensibilities. Steve knew that Heat and Rut management were natural parts of life, but knowing it and applying that knowledge to a situation were two different things. Probably because, if Steve was honest, he might have had some less than just-friends thoughts about Bucky over the years, especially when he was younger and sickly and Bucky had been as he was now, beautiful and strong and oh everything Steve could ever want or dream to be, but he also knew it wasn’t mutual. 

Then again, Steve rationalised, trying to calm the itching of his hind brain, it wasn’t like Bucky would choose _Steve_ of all people to help him through his Heat– for one thing surely Bucky would be able to remember Steve as the skinny kid he’d once been far too clearly for any physical attraction to happen on his end, and for another, they’d been miles apart, quite literally. It wouldn’t have made logical sense Steve knew, but his hind brain didn’t.

“Yeah, I get it,” he said, mainly to get Bucky to keep talking now he seemed to have some flow, but also in the hope they could move past the subject as quickly as possible. “So what happened?”

Bucky cleared his throat, looking more embarrassed than Steve had ever seen him which was concerning in itself given that Bucky had always been so confident and cocksure over everything. 

“So, I go there. And everything starts getting a bit Heat hazy – I think I probably left it too late really,” he admitted and Steve got it – there was a reason that Omegas generally preferred to go into Heat fully in the safety of their own homes, and it wasn’t completely nest related despite the fact that it helped. 

“And I… don't remember much, honestly. But things must have got – ah – sorted, because I come to when my Heat is mostly over and I get myself home. Honestly, I didn’t think about it too much because… well, I didn’t really want to,” he explained softly, and Steve nodded, encouraging him not to stop now that he'd started but a part of him was secretly _glad_ that Bucky hadn’t thought more onit. “But then I get back and I go to shower – and as I, you know, take everything off and whatever – and… my boss’ card is in my pocket. And it must have been him, Steve, because after that at work he was _watching_ me, and…”

“And…?” Steve prompted, already feeling his annoyance spiking, not at Bucky but either way hoping that it wasn’t showing in his scent though he knew that was futile with the tang of sour lemon on the air. 

“Also he… made some comments. He wanted me to know it was _him_ ,” he said quietly, not meeting Steve’s eyes as he spoke. 

Steve felt his fingers scrunch into fists at his sides and his jaw clench. “He made you feel bad about it? About something he probably had more control over than you?” 

Bucky nodded, before biting his lip. “But there’s more. It’s… he’s Alexander Pierce, and…”

“Why does it matter who he is, Buck? He’s in the wrong here,” Steve ground out and Bucky shook his head. “You’re telling me you’ve quit your job because of this?

“Steve, don’t – just listen to me. I haven’t quit, I’ve taken what is technically a demotion and got myself transferred back to the New York office – no, the thing is, I… well. I’m pregnant, Steve. I must’ve been a bit late on my contraceptive shot and… well…” He said, finally bringing those storm grey eyes up to meet Steve’s own and _oh_. 

_Oh_.

Oh _shit_.

Now Steve got it.

A single pregnant Omega was not the norm, and everyone knew that the Alpha parent had more rights over any child or would in the eyes of the court if they wanted to. Regardless Bucky was not going to have an easy ride from here on out if he planned on keeping the child.

“I… shit,” he said, unable to come up with anything more eloquent, glancing up at Bucky, his face showing how sorry he was that he couldn’t be more sensitive.

“Yeah, and Steve, I… don’t want to get rid of it. But the thing is that Pierce doesn’t have kids. _Can’t_ have them in his marriage, his wife is a Beta – though whether that’s true or something else is up for debate,” he explained and oh fuck, of _course_ this was more complicated. “And besides that, Pierce is… he’s not a nice guy, definitely not the sort that should have kids. For someone to be married to him I can’t imagine his wife would be any better, and can you imagine someone like that taking on a kid he’s fathered elsewhere? I could do _so_ much better, and I want to, but I…”

“Buck, you’d be amazing,” Steve reassured him quietly, looking up at him. And Bucky _would_ , Steve knew he would. He was so naturally warm and caring, and so good with his younger sisters, he always had been. Some people would put it down to being an Omega, but Steve knew better – it was just who Bucky _was_.

Hell, Bucky had been one of the main factors Steve had made it through childhood he was pretty sure – always pulling Steve out of a fight on the playground and tending to his wounds. It was just in his nature to care, and Steve knew that deep down Bucky _had_ always wanted a litter of pups of his own.

He gave Steve a warm, genuine smile then at the compliment. “Thanks Stevie, but being amazing doesn’t help if I decide to keep the baby and Pierce puts two and two together with timings and decides that he wants his kid. Or worse, he does it before the kid is born and decides that he _doesn’t_ want the kid.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Steve said and really, that second alternative was almost worse than the first. An Alpha parent held _all_ rights over a child, even one that was currently unborn. He paused for a second. “I… how long do you have to… uh, make a decision?” 

“You can ask how far along I am, Steve. And probably about four or five weeks, though it’s not like I can see a doctor without them immediately asking if the Alpha has been informed and getting involved,” he pointed out and yeah, alright, Steve hadn’t actually thought of that one, though in his defence it wasn’t like he’d been faced with an unmated pregnant best friend in his apartment before.

“So you’ve got some time?” He confirmed, mind still turning through all the various possibilities there could be for this.

“Yeah, but I know what I wanna do,” he said, looking at Steve with all the jaw-jutting determination Steve had ever known him to have. It was just a shame that right now there were so few available options.

Steve looked back at him and licked his lips. The thing was, for every bit as stubborn and up for a fight that Bucky Barnes could be, Steve Rogers could do it twice over. The ‘Scrappy Kid From Brooklyn’ genes were strong in him. “Are you sure?” He asked, though he was fairly sure he knew the answer. 

“I’m sure,” he nodded. “I’m keeping it Stevie, if there’s any way that I can.”

“There has to be a way, Buck,” Steve said quietly. Though it was then that there was a knock at the apartment door again. “Shit, sorry Buck – that’s the pizza.”

“Hey pal, don’t let me get between you and food,” Bucky said with a small smile, something in his expression hitting Steve right in the gut. But he didn’t have time to analyse right at that moment exactly what it was or what it meant.

Instead, he fumbled for his wallet and paid the delivery guy, taking the boxes and bringing them to the coffee table.

“I mean it, Buck,” he said seriously as he put them down before moving to the kitchen and grabbing a beer for himself and a can of coke for Bucky, handing it over. “We’ll find a way, if that’s what you want to do.”

“It is, though I can’t help but think the search for how to make that a reality is futile,” Bucky insisted, finally starting to relax into the armchair as he took the drink from Steve. 

Steve sighed. “Buck, there’s always a way – and you know, you’re still welcome to stay. By the fact you’ve turned up with a bag I guess the move was a last minute decision?” 

As he spoke he began to open the pizza boxes, watching Bucky’s interest pick up being faced with food. His hind brain kicked in, a little happy to be providing for an Omega, especially a pregnant one, even if the Omega wasn’t _his_. Steve had his usual order, though it was more than enough for both of them given Steve usually had enough to satisfy his lunch requirements for the next day. Whilst he was careful to eat healthily during the week, weekends Steve allowed himself a bit of leeway, and leeway often looked like take out food.

“I… it was. A transfer opportunity I was qualified for opened up and they needed an immediate fill. I couldn’t risk passing it up because I just knew I needed to get myself as far away from him as possible as quickly as I could,” he explained, taking a piece of BBQ chicken pizza from Steve’s half-and-half and chewing the edge contemplatively. “I… yeah. Just for a few days, if that’s okay, Steve.”

Steve nodded, hearing the cost of those words and accepting help even though it was gladly and freely offered. “No problem, we’ll eat this and I’ll set up the spare room for you. And Buck, it doesn’t have to be just a few days. It’s for however long you need, you should know that.” 

He shook his head then, glancing back at Steve. “I don’t want to put on you too much, even tonight is a lot when you weren’t given any warning.”

Steve shrugged. “What are friends for if not for times like this? Honestly, you’re welcome and it’s not like I don’t have the space.” 

Bucky sighed and looked over at him, rolling his eyes though the motion showed fondness as well as mild irritation. “You’re too good to other people, anyone ever tell you that Steve?” 

“Yeah, mainly you, pretty often,” Steve replied, picking up a slice from the pepperoni side of the pizza and chewing the end before opening one of the ranch dips and dunking it. 

“Maybe you want to try listening to me once in a while, huh?” he asked, elbowing Steve in the side as he picked up a chicken dipper and dunked it in Steve’s dip. 

“Hasn’t happened so far Buck, I wouldn’t hold your breath,” he replied with a small smirk on his lips as he took his next mouthful. 

Bucky snorted then, popping the dipper into his mouth and chewing and swallowing. “Pal, if I tried that I’d probably suffocate,” he groused and Steve caught his eye then, smirking at him.

Almost immediately, they both started laughing and any residual awkwardness from the beginning of the evening was immediately gone as they tucked into their dinner.

*****

Later on in the evening when Steve had made up the guest bed and put out fresh towels they were sitting side by side on the sofa, with Bucky leaning against Steve’s shoulder. He was breathing deeply and evenly, and the dead weight of him gave away the fact that if he wasn’t asleep, he was at least dozing. 

Steve could smell his scent on the air surrounding them and he realized there was a little something else in there besides the normal fresh linen and jasmine, a little hint of something else, floral and different. He’d heard that Omega’s often took on a slightly different scent when they were expecting and maybe this was it. 

It should have been weird but turning his head to press his nose into Bucky’s hair felt natural and he let the pheromones the man was letting off relax him as he let his mind wander. 

It meant so much to him that it was his home Bucky felt safe to come to when he needed it. Of course, it was awful that he was in this position in the first place, but Steve’s Alpha pride couldn’t help but recognize that it was pride he felt at being thought of as _safe_. Buck's safe place in the same way he was his.

Maybe it shouldn’t have been such a surprise, he supposed, given how close he and Bucky had always been. Since meeting when they were children living in a fairly run down Brooklyn neighbourhood, they’d been pretty inseparable. Back then Bucky had been tall and dark and handsome in a way that Steve had never thought to be. He’d had problems with his back and his chest, and he still bore the scars from having the former fixed with surgery, dark on the otherwise pale expanse of his back. 

They’d grown together, going through their childhood years and into being teenagers, everyone expecting (and both of them expecting, too, if the truth were told) that Bucky would present as an Alpha and Steve would be the Omega of the two if they were going to present at all. It would have made sense; Omegas were often slighter of stature than their Alpha counterparts and Steve certainly fit the bill. Hell, with his natural broad frame, if he hadn’t been an Alpha everyone was sure that Bucky Barnes would be a Beta at the least.

But it hadn’t worked out that way. Steve remembered even now Bucky’s first pre-heat. Knowing instinctively what was happening to his friend and ushering him to the safety of his home as soon as they were out of class. He remembered Winnie Barnes, Bucky’s mother, thanking him for what he’d managed to go before shutting her son in his room not wanting his baby sister, Becca, to see what was about to begin when it did.

The scent shouldn’t have bothered Steve like it did, but in the days after Bucky's first heat he couldn’t let go of it. That soft, sweet aroma haunted his dreams and daydreams for weeks after the event until finally it all culminated in Steve’s first Rut experience which brought on a hormonal rush that caused him to shoot up like a weed. The thing was, unlike a weed, Steve had become broad as well as tall. The trips to the gym he was taking to burn off his newfound energy added to the testosterone now coursing round his body caused him to gain muscles in places he’d assumed he never would.

Honestly, what Steve Rogers had gone through – except for very painful growing pains – could be described best as the textbook example of all the strong changes that could happen to an Alpha when they came of age. 

And yet, despite being an Alpha to Bucky’s Omega, Bucky had never looked at him that way.

Really, that was fine. It was fine. It _was_ fine. 

Steve would far rather have Bucky’s friendship than nothing at all, and he’d been careful to swallow down his own errant feelings whenever Bucky had mentioned a date or brought someone home or had been texting some other Alpha or Beta who’d entered his life. Steve had even been happy when Bucky had landed the job of his dreams working for SHIELD homeland security, even if it had taken him across the country to DC and meant that he and Steve only saw each other when they were able to take trips or at holidays. As long as Bucky was happy he was happy.

Talking on the phone and via video call had helped fill some of the void, and they’d remained close for all that Steve had still missed him.

Really, all that Steve wanted for the beautiful man next to him – and really, it wasn’t weird for Steve to describe him that way because anybody with eyes could see that Bucky was beautiful – was for him to be happy and to have everything he wanted from life.

The thing was with his current situation, Steve wasn’t sure that there _was_ a particularly happy way out of it. 

Alpha parents held all the cards when it came to children, and if this Alexander Pierce guy was Bucky’s superior at work, then it suggested he might also be in a better financial position than Bucky as well as a better social one just by his designation. 

He could see why Bucky would have run – the pain of losing a child you wanted despite circumstances would be horrible for anyone, but especially for an Omega parent who would likely have stronger ties already even to an unborn child, and that was if the guy didn’t want to wait until the child was born and take him or her from Bucky then which would be arguably worse. If this Alexander Pierce was in a committed relationship even with a Beta, he would almost certainly be seen as the best option for the child.

Steve sighed, wondering what Bucky would do from here. Regardless of what happened, healthcare providers would always first ask if he knew the Alpha because they would want the Alpha to help make decisions with regards to the care of Bucky and the child as if he couldn’t do it himself. 

Steve sighed, smelling that sharp note of lemon in his own scent again as he let himself get riled about it. 

“Whatever you’re doing it’s disturbing my nap,” Bucky murmured, pressing his face back into Steve’s shoulder and going heavier again and Steve couldn’t help but laugh. They really did know each other too well sometimes he thought, given that slight change in his scent was enough to rouse Bucky from his sleep. 

Steve leaned against him trying to focus on the ridiculous rom com Bucky had put on and failing miserably. If only things worked out in real life like they did in these things. 

That led to Steve, in a comfortable beer and pizza induced haze daydreaming about what _might_ make this work out and really there was only one obvious solution.

For this to work out Bucky would need to find himself an Alpha.

But who would treat Bucky as well as Steve would treat Bucky? Especially without making this whole situation ten times more complicated.

Probably no one.

But what if…

Would that even work?

Steve’s mind raced ahead running through the scenario because what he was about to offer was both huge and ridiculous, but compared to how much he cared for Bucky was it really?

Steve ran a hand over his face.

“What are you thinking about? I can feel you fidgeting and I can practically hear your brain gears grinding,” Bucky mumbled sleepily, not even bothering to open his eyes from his doze.

“Buck, the baby – what if we say it’s mine?” He said suddenly, blurting it out with none of the nuance he had intended because well, how else could he suggest it? 

At that, Bucky’s eyes snapped open as he sat up and looked at Steve - _really_ looked at Steve. “What?”

“Think about it – it just makes sense, doesn’t it? We’ve always been best friends and I bet we could raise a great kid together. We pretend to be together, we pretend the pup is mine, my name goes on all the paperwork and you _know_ I’d never do anything to take any decisions away from you. It’s perfect,” he said, looking over at Bucky earnestly.

Bucky, meanwhile, was looking at him like he had suddenly sprouted a second head. “Steve, you can’t just pretend that the pup is yours – fuck, we haven’t even _seen_ each other in months, I mean…”

“You’re early enough we can just pretend the baby came a bit early. You came back this weekend, it happened, we’ve been seeing each other for a while and it just makes sense to keep it,” Steve replied, finding that as this came it _did_ make sense in a completely mad way. “You don’t get asked any further questions, you get to make the decisions and once the pup is born we can amicably split up.” 

Of course, Steve could do _without_ the splitting up part, but he couldn’t exactly _say_ that. 

“Steve, think about what you’re offering here. I know you’re all about a crazy plan, but this is huge even as far as your ideas go – you know you would be legally claiming a child as yours, right? As in you’d be responsible in the eyes of the law for this kid going forward?” He asked, speaking slowly as if Steve were a complete idiot.

All things considered, he might be.

“I know. And Buck, I want to do this for you,” he said quietly and that _was_ true, he realized in that moment. He really _did_ want to make things right for Bucky. 

Bucky sighed, moving from Steve a little, standing and stretching. “It’s so much Steve, you… Jesus.”

He wiped a hand over his face and looked back at Steve incredulously. 

“I mean it, Buck,” he replied again wanting to reach for the man, to reassure him, but knowing it wasn’t his place even if under normal circumstances it might be accepted. 

“I know you do, and that’s why I’m hesitating,” he admitted, and whilst Steve didn’t really understand that sentence he didn’t question it. “I… look, Steve. I’ve no doubt that you mean it right now, but I honestly think you should give yourself time to think about what you’re saying.” 

“But you’d be willing to talk about the possibility tomorrow?” he asked, figuring that was not an outright ‘no’. Fuck, Steve realized then that he was goddamn _invested_ in this ridiculous idea already.

Because they _could_ do this.

“Sure, Stevie, I…” he trailed off, looking suddenly a lot smaller than he was and incredibly tired. “I think I should sleep now though, properly sleep, in a bed. It’s been a _day_.”

“It has,” Steve admitted, giving him a soft smile. “I’ve put towels out for you in the bathroom and you know where the spare room is.”

“Thanks, Stevie,” he said, giving him a sleepy smile. “You really are the best friend a guy could have. I knew there was a reason I came here out of anywhere else we’re kind of ride or die, huh?”

“’Til the end of the line,” Steve agreed with a small smile, quoting some old movie they’d seen as kids becoming obsessed with a few random lines from, that being one of them.

“That’s the one,” Bucky agreed, before giving Steve a lazy salute despite the fact that neither of them had ever been in the military and turning to head to the bathroom to ready himself for bed.

Listening to the general noises of Bucky puttering around, Steve relaxed back against the sofa. In a few minutes he would tidy the beer bottles, coke cans and pizza boxes, but for now he could relax and think, and really given what he had just offered he _was_ strangely relaxed.

That told him everything he needed to know about how sure he was and that made him hope that Bucky would actually consider it. 

After all, it really _did_ just make sense, didn’t it?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Admit it Buck, it’s not a terrible option. It makes sense. And I’m willing to bet we’d make an adorable fake couple,” he wheedled and alright, _alright_. 
> 
> “Alright then, punk, how do you suggest we go about this?” He asked, spearing another mouthful of waffle and shoving it in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Omega Boarding Houses are mentioned in here. In this canon, they’re kind of like Women’s Boarding Houses in NYC (and some still exist!) where furnished rooms are rented on a weekly basis to Omegas who need them.   
> \- All the same thank you’s as before – both to Arsonette and to EmmatheSlayer for beta reading and art respectively.  
> \- Thank you all for your warm reception of this one – it’s been much appreciated <3 Your comments and kudos give me life!

B U C K Y 

Bucky woke up slowly in a warm, soft bed that was darker and quieter than the one he’d had in the Omega boarding house he’d lived in in DC. It took him a couple of beats to figure out where he was, a low thrum of panic going through him a the initial realization that this wasn’t the place he’d called home for some time now before he remembered: he was at Steve’s.

The realization made him calm immediately, pressing his nose into the comforter and nuzzling it, enjoying the scent of oranges from Steve’s fabric softener mixed with an under layer of bergamot that was wholly _Steve_. Safety and comfort in one deep breath filled his lungs. Tension he didn't even know he was still carrying after such a deep sleep dropping away slowly.

If he was being truthful, he felt guilty for coming here unannounced, but in his defense the last week had been an absolute whirlwind. 

It had started really after joining a few colleagues for drinks at a bar after work. He’d initially put the nausea he felt the following morning down to the fact he’d started on beer and moved on to spirits and everybody knew that mixing your drinks was unlikely to go well. He’d not drank that much, but perhaps he was tired? Or coming down with something?

But when it had happened for a second day, he’d become a little concerned. A Heat with an Alpha present had happened after all. Bucky was good with his contraceptive shots though, so it should be fine, right?

He’d opened the web browser on his phone and Googled information and there it was: 99.5% effective. 

99.5%. 

And wouldn't that just be his luck. Suddenly, Ross’ reaction in _Friends_ didn’t seem quite so melodramatic as his stomach lurched and he made a mad dash to the bathroom, emptying the contents of his stomach unceremoniously into the toilet bowl. 

Sitting back on the cool tile of the floor of his en suite room he thought and shook his head. How likely was it that he, James Buchanan Barnes, was going to be that 0.5% margin for error? 

But he _had_ spent his Heat with an Alpha. He’d been knotted. It had helped with the Heat, sure, but what if…?

Once he’d felt well enough and cleaned his teeth and taken a quick shower to look presentable – mainly in the hope that he wouldn’t look as shaken as he felt – he’d made his way down to the drug store and tried to look inconspicuous as he’d gone to the aisle he needed. Even now he could vividly remember his first thoughts on looking at the shelves because really – why the fuck were there so many brands? Were there differences between them? 

He’d found the display specifically for tests for male Omegas, and had picked up a box with a picture of a smiling man looking tenderly at where his hand was placed on his lower abdomen. It had a light purple background and the words _‘ClearTest – digital pregnancy test’_. Clear test suggested that it would be clear, right? He definitely needed clear results and he didn’t think he could stand the idea of having to read those tiny little instructions that came in anything like this, he was far too jittery. 

Glancing back at the display, he made a decision and picked up two more ( _‘PregMatTest – clear and simple pregnancy testing stick!’_ and _’Family Planning Hormonal Pregnancy Test – Male Omega Edition’_ ) because really at this stage he was more than happy to take the best answer out of three. 

Gingerly, he made his way to the counter and had realized then his other error. He should have worn a scarf or a turtle neck, it would have covered the fact that he had no Mating bite on display. Handing the boxes over to the cashier defiantly anyway, he watched her eyes wander and a slight eyebrow raise, though there was no other change to her facial expression beyond that.

Still, it was enough. Bucky felt the blood colouring his cheeks as he blushed pink at her assessment which had clearly found him wanting. He knew that was how most people would see it. Using his card to pay, he took the bag and headed out of the shop as fast as his feet would carry him wanting nothing more than the safety of his own room.

When he got back, Bucky drank one glass of water and then another, trying to speed up the whole process. Eventually feeling the urge to go, he’d headed back into his bathroom, the _ClearTest_ box in hand. He’d already scanned the instructions when he was sitting and waiting so hopefully some of it had sunk in but really how hard could it be to pee on a stick?

Once he’d relieved himself he placed the used stick on the cistern of the toilet before washing his hands and going back through to the living area, pacing until the waiting time was up. 

When he got back to the bathroom and looked at the stick he swore loudly as. “Pregnant 2-3” stared back at him from the screen and really, that was that.

It didn’t stop him taking the other two tests though, one later that evening and one the next morning. They all said the same thing.

Bucky Barnes, unmated male Omega, was pregnant. 

By his asshole of a boss.

His asshole of a boss who was in a relationship with someone else. 

Fuck.

The next thing that Bucky had realized – beyond the fact that he had pretty much no choices where the growing fetus inside of him was concerned – was that he couldn’t stay where he was with a child in tow.

Bucky had rented his place, a studio flat in an Omega House, when he had moved to DC because it was convenient, it was furnished and by definition it accepted unmated Omega tenants. An issue that a lot of Omegas had before Mating with someone was that some apartment buildings didn’t allow them for fear of making Alpha tenants near-feral if and when the Omega went into Heat. It was an old fashioned way of thinking about it, but there it was. 

But Omega Houses didn’t take children. His certainly didn’t. And regardless, Bucky couldn’t stay here – his only chance to make his own decisions regarding his body and his child (holy shit, _his child_ ) was to get as far away as possible.

And so he’d started looking – how he could get away easily, and that was when the position in New York came up. It made sense to keep working for SHIELD, he’d have maternity benefits if he wanted to keep the child, there was no probation period to worry about and besides that he knew and liked what he did. It might be a bit of a demotion, but it would have to do.

The prerequisite to it was that he had to be available for immediate start, but that wasn’t going to put Bucky off. He hadn’t been thinking that rationally when he put in his week’s notice with his housing, nor when he boarded a plane but something in him knew that he could go to Steve.

That he _should_ go to Steve.

Steve was his best friend. Steve was _safe_. How comfortable Bucky was with the man showed in how well he’d slept, feeling well rested for the first time in weeks. 

Then again, Bucky had always been just a little soft for Steve. The guy was a force, but in the best possible way. Something about the little smile he shone Bucky’s way on occasion had always warmed Bucky from the inside out. 

Bucky always tried not to think about that too much.

He shifted, stretching and ignoring the wave of nausea that washed through him at the movement. This was just how things felt now, unfortunately. He took another breath of the fabric softener and Steve’s scent and relaxed slightly. 

Now that he was here all curled up in the safety of Steve's place it felt like the battle was already won but he knew it was only the start. He still had a half dozen problems, before there was even a physical child to deal with, and surely that would bring a whole host of new ones, but for now:

1\. What he wanted to do about the pregnancy in general (not that it was really a problem, deep down he knew he wanted this child – had _always_ wanted children. This wasn’t how he’d ever planned to do it, but Bucky was a believer that the universe always had a plan and there was a reason for this.)

2\. What the hell he was going to do about housing (because really, Steve was kind but he didn’t need a baby in his apartment. And when he _did_ look for that housing, it was going to have to be an apartment complex that would take an unmated Omega with a baby. That… would probably be more challenging than it should be.)

3\. What he was going to do about Steve’s offer (and wasn’t that the doozy?)

4\. How to really hide the pregnancy from Pierce so he didn’t take it. 

It was a lot and Bucky sighed. He felt too tired for this, but unfortunately he had a timescale to work with here. He had to get this sorted. 

Realizing that he very much had to pee, he pried himself out of the warm comfort of the bed and padded across to Steve’s bathroom, relieving himself and then deciding that a shower would be good. Some of his best thinking had been done in the shower, after all, maybe it would give him some ideas.

*****

Coming out of the shower and really, Bucky didn’t have any solutions to his problems and of the ideas he had contemplated, he had even less ideas that could be considered _good_. Basically, saying that his options were limited was an understatement. 

He dried himself and got dressed, toweling his hair until it was good enough and combing it with a comb that had to be Steve’s and was left beside the sink, and picked up the toothbrush Steve had left out for him, cleaning his teeth avoiding going too far back in his mouth for fear of setting off his own gag reflex which probably didn’t need the encouragement at the moment. It wasn't something he'd ever really had to deal with before, or at least there has never been any complaints but everything set him off at the moment. Looking back at himself when he had finished, Bucky deducted that he looked presentable and let himself out of the bathroom.

There were sounds coming from Steve’s kitchen and Bucky followed them, the scent of pancakes or waffles or something else sweet coming through on the air. Bucky couldn’t help but smile a little, he knew that Steve would be doing that because Bucky had a huge sweet tooth – the fact that Steve would go out of his way just for that warmed him a little.

Then again, apparently Steve was willing to pretend to be Bucky’s boyfriend – his _mate_ \- to protect Bucky and his child…

When they’d been young Steve and Bucky had told each other they’d be there til the end of the line, and apparently Steve was taking that literally.

By now Bucky was lingering in the doorway to the kitchen and Steve looked up and gave him one of his usual sunny smiles when he saw him. 

“Morning Buck, I’m making waffles – figured after your trip yesterday the least I could do was give you a decent breakfast. I’ve got maple syrup and cinnamon sugar on the table, but there’s butter in the fridge if you’d prefer that,” he said. “And I’ve got coffee on, but I seem to remember you’re meant to cut down on your caffeine, so there’s orange juice or just water – or I have peppermint tea?”

Bucky couldn’t help the fond smile that spread across his features as Steve spoke. Of _course_ Steve would have thought of all that. 

“Syrup is fine thanks, Stevie,” he replied, and Steve gave him that million dollar smile again at the use of the nickname. “And orange juice would be great – would you like me to do anything?”

“Nah, I’m just about done,” Steve admitted, nodding to the stack of waffles he’d already cooked before turning to the cupboard to get Bucky a glass. Bucky watched the muscles in his back ripple beneath the old T shirt he was wearing above his pajama pants as he reached up for it before quickly tearing his gaze away before Steve caught him staring. “Make yourself comfy at the table.”

Bucky nodded and moved through, sitting himself down and watching Steve continue to fuss. Ugh, he really was _such_ an Alpha sometimes he thought, shaking his head in mild exasperation. 

It was only another minute or two before Steve came over, putting the plate of waffles in the middle of the table and placing Bucky’s glass of orange juice on the coaster in front of him. 

“Breakfast is served,” he said with a smile – as if that wasn’t obvious by the plates of food in front of them – and sat himself down. “Sleep well?”

Bucky nodded. “As well as I normally do here,” he replied with a shy smile. “And better than I thought I would with everything going on.” 

And really, that was a fair point – even now, his mind was working itself up to the frantic levels it had been at since he’d found out about his pregnancy. The panic usually seemed to consume him by the end of the day, the previous night excluded if only because Steve’s company was sufficiently distracting.

“Good,” Steve smiled, and the scent of Alpha pride at hearing that spread through the room – clearly, the effects of Steve’s pheromone body wash had worn off and he’d not yet thought to apply blockers manually. “Have you… had any more thoughts about everything?” 

Bucky had somehow known that was coming and smiled softly. “You know, it’s kinda difficult to think about anything else,” he admitted. “I just… _god_ Steve, I really don’t want to give the baby up. I don’t want to terminate, and I don’t want Pierce to have it.”

He knew he was being vulnerable in that and his voice cracked ever so slightly showing just how much it meant. To his credit, Steve didn’t say anything for a second. Instead, he contemplated Bucky, his fork still held in his hand. 

“I knew you were going to say that,” Steve replied. “Buck, I meant what I said – I really would be happy for you - _both_ of you – to stay here and I meant what I said about us saying the kid is mine. We’re best friends Buck, and… I’ve always wanted kids. You’re really going to struggle on your own – not that I think you couldn’t do it, it’s just more that you don’t _have_ to, you know?”

Bucky’s stomach swooped at the sincerity of Steve’s words and the way he didn’t break eye contact once whilst he was speaking. Part of Bucky thought he did mean it. Another more shameful part of him _wanted_ Steve to mean it.

Of course, his mistake was to pause as he thought all of those things before refusing Steve’s offer – because of _course_ Steve would know Bucky well enough to know the time to push.

“Think about it, Buck. You have an Alpha who claims the child is his – who’s going to question that? Besides, I was thinking – we stage some photos for social media, do a few dates to take the pictures, evidence that this all above board and wholesome. Perhaps you came to stay when you took your new job and we realized we’d missed each other so much we were clearly more than friends and things went quick. Suddenly you’re pregnant and of course we’d keep it because why wouldn’t we? Sure our relationship is new but we’re best friends. And I’m great with kids, Buck – I’m an elementary school teacher!” he said, giving a toothy smile as he did. 

Bucky sighed, looking over this big, handsome lug of a best friend and wondering what brand of stupid would possibly think this was a plan. “So that’s it? Your whole plan hinges on us basically pretending to be a couple for a while and then what? Breaking up?”

Steve tilted his head and then nodded. “I mean sure – when the time is right and all. But the kid would still be _ours_ Buck – I’d never just leave you to it.” 

Bucky could admit that he _could_ see the merit. He could. Steve could co-sign all his medical appointments, he could just stay here for a while, raising a kid with Steve would be fine and he knew that Steve would never let on that the kid wasn’t _actually_ his. 

But Bucky had spent years trying to get Steve not to continue with the self sacrificing bullshit he always seemed to want to pull. And this _definitely_ counted as self sacrificing bullshit.

“Steve, you do this and legally you have a kid. A kid with me, actually. You know that you’ll always be getting calls about the pup’s welfare, you’ll be financially responsible if you claim it _and_ you’ll have a kid who thinks you’re it’s father. That’s a lot of responsibility, you know,” he said evenly, sipping at the glass of juice for lack of anything else to do.

Steve, because he was _Steve_ , simply nodded. “Yeah, I know that Buck. None of that scares me. Sure, with anyone else it might be an issue, but this is me and you, you know? And alright, I might be the one getting calls because I’m the Alpha but like I just said, I’d never take a decision away from you. And I think deep down you know I wouldn’t. And as for helping financially, that’s fine. I like to think I’d at the very least be some sort of honourary Uncle – I’d help out anyway if you needed it. Besides, what other solutions do you have? This just makes sense really, and you know it.”

And yeah, alright, he had Bucky there. He didn’t really have any other solutions.

He sighed then, still trying to put the brakes on the whole idea even though he just couldn’t get over the fact that he could have a kid with _Steve_. “I mean, there are other issues, we have to consider Steve. I mean, I’m still going to be working for SHIELD. What if Pierce actually decides to visit the New York office and puts two and two together? Would you lie in court?”

Steve looked over his fork – now full of syrup covered waffle – at Bucky. “Sure if you wanted me to. But I’m willing to bet they’d look pretty favourably on the baby staying with the Omega parent if there was a stable home life with an Alpha involved willing to claim responsibility. In fact, I looked it up last night – there’s precedent for that. But honestly Buck, I doubt it’d come to that – I mean, we play this right and everyone’ll believe we were together anyway. Accidents happen, case and point.” he said grinning victoriously as he stabbed another piece of waffle onto his fork, smiling directly at Bucky's guarded features.

Of course Steve had looked it up, Bucky couldn’t help but roll his eyes, aggressively shoving some waffle into his mouth whilst he thought about it. 

“Why are you so determined to argue with me?” Bucky grumbled, knowing deep down that he was somehow losing this argument. And he was losing because Steve _was_ right – he was pretty low on options all things considered. 

“Arguing with you is what I do. And isn’t it like couples to bicker?” He asked, a shit eating grin spreading across his annoyingly handsome face. 

Bucky wanted nothing more than to stab him with his fork. 

“Admit it Buck, it’s not a terrible option. It makes sense. And I’m willing to bet we’d make an adorable fake couple,” he wheedled and alright, _alright_. 

“Alright then, punk, how do you suggest we go about this?” He asked, spearing another mouthful of waffle and shoving it in.

“Well, first we have to make it believable we’re together. I figure we stage a few dates, put some photos up on social media and let most of our friends believe it, I guess because otherwise it sort of falls on its ass. I’ll sign off on anything you need for the baby, and you stay here in the meantime. We might have to do a bit of scenting before we go out anywhere because people will be expecting us to smell like each other – but that’s easily done. You make the calls, and I’ll co-parent along with you as long as you’ll let me, even when the relationship is done. I can be your support through the pregnancy – I just… this is the only thing I can think of that doesn’t make things super complicated for everyone and the thing is Buck, I know you want to keep this child. And I understand that – I really do – and I want you to have whatever you want. If I can ever help you, I will,” he said, finally stopping to draw breath.

Bucky could only stare, something warm and affectionate spreading in his stomach completely unchecked because who could help getting the warm and fuzzies when faced with _that?_

Who the fuck thought it was okay to essentially adopt their best friend’s whoopsie-baby and take on the responsibility?

Steve- _fucking_ -Rogers. That was who. 

Looking back into those sky blue eyes, full of earnest affection, the warmth grew and Bucky knew that if he accepted that offer, he was screwed.

But he also knew if he didn’t he was screwed, and the poor kid along with him.

Rocks and hard places came to mind.

“Come on then, hot shot, tell me more about how we’d get this started if we were going to go ahead,” he croaked out.

Steve beamed like Bucky had hung the moon. 

His stomach lurched.

He hoped it was the pregnancy hormones, even if deep down he knew it wasn’t just that.

*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me/message me/scream at me/send me love at [my tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/oh-i-swear-writes)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So you really think that you can play Daddy to the child of a guy you have serious feelings for and go through the whole pregnancy with him and _not_ get in too deep?” Sam asked, and when Steve nodded he sighed loudly, pushing back in his chair until he was resting wholly on the back two legs with one hand rubbing his temple in a put upon way. “Come on, man, even you’re not that stupid, right? Please tell me you’re not that stupid? Steve, you wear your heart on your sleeve, always have – hell, I think you’re probably already in too deep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Ugh, you guys - thank you SO MUCH for the love on this one. Ultimately before posting I got cold feet and I wasn't sure about it, you know? But the comments on this have given me LIFE. So thank you <3  
> \- This chapter brings us Sam Wilson who is Sick Of This Shit Already (TM).  
> \- As before, many thanks to [ Arsonette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arsonette) for red-pen duties and to [ Emmatheslayer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmatheslayer/pseuds/Emmatheslayer) for providing the art to go with this, which you can view [ here](https://emmatheslayer.livejournal.com/670720.html)

S T E V E 

“So let me get this straight,” Steve’s neighbor, Sam Wilson, said faux calmly as he sat his coffee cup down in front of him. “Barnes is staying with you because he’s come back from DC pregnant by his boss, and you’re going to play happy families with him and pretend the kid is yours?”

Steve nodded sheepishly because _yeah_ , actually, that was it.

“And we’re talking the-one-that-got-away Barnes? Your childhood crush-slash-best friend?” He asked, eyeing Steve in a way that made him feel distinctly like Sam could read his mind or something.

“I wouldn’t exactly call him the one that got away, Sam,” Steve replied patiently, though he knew that his cheeks were slightly pink.

“So you really think that you can play Daddy to the child of a guy you have serious feelings for and go through the whole pregnancy with him and _not_ get in too deep?” Sam asked, and when Steve nodded he sighed loudly, pushing back in his chair until he was resting wholly on the back two legs with one hand rubbing his temple in a put upon way. “Come on, man, even you’re not that stupid, right? Please tell me you’re not that stupid? Steve, you wear your heart on your sleeve, always have – hell, I think you’re probably already in too deep.”

“Am not,” Steve replied, aware he sounded like some sort of a petulant child. 

“Right, right – you _are_ that stupid. Steve, this is going to ruin you. Even if you manage to keep your friendship out of all this it’s going to hurt you, and I don’t want to see you hurt, you know? It really just feels like you haven’t thought about this at all,” he added, and Steve bristled slightly because he _had_ thought about it – Bucky needed help and Steve could give it and was willing to. Surely that was enough?

“I have thought about it, and Buck – he’d never hurt me,” Steve replied, trying to justify it.

“Not _deliberately_ , that’s your key word here Steve. But he doesn’t have to do it deliberately, it will hurt the same. How are you going to feel when all this goes to shit at the end and this fake relationship falls apart and you lose your flat mate, your fake lover _and_ a child that for all intents and purposes will be yours all at the same time?” He asked, and Steve knew it was coming from a place of care, but he could feel his hackles rising all the same, he was determined he could do this.

He set his jaw, noting how Sam looked slightly defeated by the small movement. They had been neighbours, and friends, for a while now after all, he knew there was no arguing with Steve when he was like this. 

“It will be fine, Sam, it is what it is. And he’s my friend and he needs help. He’s worth it, and so is the pup.” 

“Look, all I’m saying is that if you think you know what you’re doing, feel free to go right back to the apartment of complete stupidity and carry on doing it. I just think this is going to end in tears. I’m not saying I won’t support you – and I mean _all_ of you – through this but I just feel like you’ve not really thought about the repercussions,” he said, sighing. 

Steve softened a bit at that. “Thanks, Sam, but I know what I’m doing.”

“I hope to hell that you do,” he replied, shoving the plate of cookies in front of him across to Steve for him to take one which Steve did, glad of the reprieve. 

*****

“So I told Sam,” Steve told Bucky nonchalantly later as he stirred spaghetti sauce for their dinner on the stovetop. They had agreed that Sam should know because if nothing else he lived directly next door to Steve and would know that they hadn’t been together beforehand, but he was to be the only one. A support line for Steve in a way, something that Bucky had insisted he have if they were really going to do this.

“Oh?” Bucky asked, glancing over at him from where he was sitting with Steve’s laptop completing his transfer paperwork to the New York office of SHIELD. “How did that go?”

Steve shrugged non-committedly. “Much as expected. He asked if I knew what I was getting in to, then said we have his support if it’s what we want.”

He could feel Bucky’s eyes on him, boring into him as if checking whether or not he was telling the truth. Steve couldn’t decide whether he had decided that he was or not when he replied. “Well, that’s good then.” 

“Mmm,” Steve agreed deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth and instead being glad that no further questions seemed to be being asked. “So, I guess now it's time to start with the fake dates.”

“I was thinking about that, actually,” Bucky replied, glancing up to look at Steve again. “And I have a few ideas.”

“Yeah?” He asked, taking out a piece of spaghetti from the other pan he was using and trying it – finding it still a bit too hard.

Bucky nodded, eyes flicking to Steve and then away again, like he didn’t quite know how to keep eye contact. “I… we should get going on that if we’re doing it, Steve. I mean, I’m about four weeks pregnant now so I have about eight more weeks before I’ll probably start showing. And I know we’re going to have to lie to make this work date wise at the end – I’m gonna have to have the baby early as far as our friends and even my sisters are concerned – but… yeah.”

Steve nodded, because actually, yeah. Bucky was right on both counts. “You’re right I just… I didn’t want to rush you. Part of me feels like I pushed you into this anyway. So, uh… where should our first date be?”

Bucky laughed a bit at the way Steve said it, and the chuckle was enough to relax the both of them a little, the tension that the moment had held broken. “Steve, only _you_ could do a guy a favor this big and still think you’re pushing. Well, how about we start easy? You wanna take me to dinner tomorrow night, Rogers?”

Steve laughed at that. “Is this your way of telling me you don’t appreciate my cooking Buck? Ain’t nobody stopping you from taking over, you know.”

“Eh, you’re nowhere near as bad as you used to be that’s for certain, but yanno, a little wining and dining would probably be nice. Well, without the wine. We can take a selfie all dressed up together, tag ourselves at the restaurant online and whatever?” He asked, sounding more unsure towards the end than he had at the beginning. That sweet softness making Steve smile a little. 

“Sure Buck… it’d be good to have a chance to get dressed up, huh?” He asked, stirring the sauce again with a smile, though part of him wondered if this was a good idea– after all he thought Bucky cut a gorgeous figure in his everyday clothes, would he be able to cope with Bucky in something more formal?

He supposed that he was just about to find out. 

“I mean… sure,” he said with a small smile. “I’ll pick something up on my way home from work.”

Steve thought for a second before shaking his head. “No need, I’ve a suit that’s a little small for me, but it should work on you? If you want?”

“Not even one date in and I’m wearing my Alpha’s clothes? What would people say?” he replied teasingly, making it sound like some great scandal.

Steve knew he should have a smart response ready on the tip of his tongue, but something in his hind brain fogged at the idea of Bucky wearing his clothes – clothes that would hold his scent no matter how long it had been since he’d worn them. 

Instead of a quip, he felt a deep blush rising and coughed a little to try and cover the fact his brain had completely sputtered. “Yeah, Buck,” he murmured softly, not daring to look over at Bucky, inexplicably nervous about his reaction.

*****

It felt a little weird, standing in his living room and waiting for a date to commence rather than waiting outside of a restaurant or picking them up in a car. But then again it would feel weird no matter where the date started given that his date was getting ready the room over and had borrowed clothing from his own wardrobe. This was definitely not how his dates usually started.

Steve had booked a table at a fancy local Italian place that had decent reviews and now he felt unduly nervous about going on a fake-date with his best friend. He knew he looked good, standing in a navy suit with a matching tie and a white shirt and he knew Bucky would, having left him with something similar that had been his own a few years ago and really, the thought of Bucky in a suit - _his_ suit - wasn’t doing anything to calm his nerves.

He heard the click of the guest bedroom door opening and turned to look, seeing Bucky step out. His stomach somersaulted and he swallowed thickly. The suit looked like it had been made for Bucky, fitting his shoulders properly and cutting him a slim but strong figure. He didn’t have a belt on, clearly not needing it to keep the pants well fitting, and his hair was styled properly.

He glanced up at Steve from the doorway and took in his own outfit, before smiling and Steve’s heart thudded so loud he’d not have been surprised if Bucky could hear it.

“Buck, you look great,” Steve said dryly, and he wasn’t lying – he _did_ , and he did in a way that made Steve’s stomach clench and his tongue feel fuzzy. 

Bucky just have him a cheeky smile. “Do you always say such sweet things to your fake dates, Steve?” 

“Only when they’re you,” Steve replied, hoping that that truth behind his words didn’t become known. In fairness, Bucky was his first and only fake date and it already wasn’t something that Steve planned to replicate. 

Bucky, for his part, looked a little shy and Steve hoped that he hadn’t overdone it with the compliments. 

“Shall we?” Steve asked, offering an arm before the moment could settle and Bucky nodded, coming to take it, before they took the short walk to the restaurant together.

****

“That was delicious,” Bucky said, sitting back in his chair. He’d just finished his appetizer course of stuffed mushrooms where Steve had enjoyed fried calamari which had been deliciously crunchy and light. As they would have done before all of this they shared a little and whilst it usually wouldn’t have had any effect on Steve, the potential intimacy of the gesture had made him blush. Thankfully, the sympathetic low lighting inside of the restaurant hid the pink tinge on his cheeks even as their knees knocked together under the table for two.

“It was,” Steve admitted with a smile. “I’ve heard good things about this place, but never really had any reason to come for myself.”

“Well, if nothing else, I’m pleased to have given you a good excuse,” Bucky said with a small smile, sipping at the glass of water in front of him. “Jeez, I feel like I’m constantly hungry these days – and that was a good start to filling me up.”

Steve grinned back. “You’ve still got you’re entrée and dessert to go, if we make it that far.” 

“I'm sure I will, especially if it was as delicious as that,” he said with a small smile. “I really did think this might be more awkward than it is.”

Steve nodded in agreement. It hadn’t actually been that awkward, Steve’s blushing aside – like it always had conversation flowed easily and despite the contact below the table things felt comfortable. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve definitely had first dates far more awkward than this is.” 

Bucky looked slightly awkward for a moment, and Steve was halfway to bumbling through a reply clarifying that he knew that this wasn’t _actually_ a first date and that Bucky didn’t need to worry, but Bucky beat him to speaking first. 

“I think this is how we need to treat it. Like we’re hanging out like he would have anyway as best friends, just in slightly more romantic settings,” he said, and _yeah_ , actually Steve could see that even if something in his brain whispered that he wished it didn’t _have_ to be this way. 

He nodded. “I think you’re right. We can have fun with this,” he agreed and Bucky smiled back at him.

It was then that their server appeared with their main meals, putting a beef lasagne in front of Bucky and a ragu in front of Steve, both of them having gone for pasta-based main courses.

“There we go, let me know if you need anything else,” she said with a smile, and Steve had been about to open his mouth and let her know that they should be fine, but Bucky got in there before him.

“Um, this might be a bit weird, but could you take a picture of us on my phone, perhaps? It’s our anniversary,” he mumbled, blushing in a way that made the server smile widely.

“Sure! It’s nice to have a couple as sweet as you guys in here! You look perfect together!” She said, taking Bucky’s phone once he’d set it to the camera setting and standing back a little.

Steve and Bucky leaned together, the setting of the restaurant clear around them and Steve desperately trying not to focus on the fact that she thought they were a legitimate couple beyond the fact that for their ruse - that had to be a good thing.

“I… thanks,” he said, a smile breaking across his face, deliberately looking at Bucky and knowing that the innate fondness would be on his face regardless or how goofily he felt he was grinning at his best friend.

She snapped a few, before handing the device back. “Thank you,” Bucky said with a shy smile and she nodded.

“Sure thing, now anything you need, just give me a call,” she told them before heading back to work. 

Glancing through the pictures Bucky nodded in a satisfied way before putting the cell phone away again. Both of them fell into a companionable silence, eating their food before ordering a dessert, Steve opting for tiramisu to Bucky’s chocolate torta which didn’t surprise Steve at all given Bucky’s chronic sweet tooth.

At the end of the night, they walked back to Steve’s apartment with Steve’s hand resting on Bucky’s lower back so that he could shield Bucky from the worst of the cool breeze that had sprung up whilst they were dining (or at least that was why he told himself he was doing this), the whole thing feeling far more comfortable than it had any right to.

“Night, Stevie,” Bucky said yawning when they were inside, his hair stuck up out of it's earlier coiffed tidiness throughout the duration of the evening and padded away sleepily to clean his teeth, briefly silhouetted in the doorway of his room.

“Night Buck,” Steve said softly in return, waiting until he heard the movements from the spare room stop before going to his own room and getting himself ready for bed.  
He hadn’t planned to, but he found it all too easy to slide his hand below the waistline of his pajama pants and begin jacking off, feeling horribly guilty as he did, especially when his head was filled with images of Bucky Barnes, pregnant Omega, wearing Steve’s clothes and looking at him with those sinful cherry lips over a candle lit table.

*****

Their second date was at the One World Observatory which Steve had picked because of how fascinated with space Bucky had always been and the third was simply eating ice cream together in Prospect Park at Bucky’s request. They seemed to be taking turns with the decision making, which was nice. 

Strolling along with Bucky’s hand in his own, Steve couldn’t help but to feel strangely relaxed. Bucky had chosen a peanut butter cone and Steve had gone with coffee for himself. They’d taken selfies with the ice creams and a couple more in various other locations during their stroll, enjoying the springtime air and each other just as much as their respective ice cream cones. Even if the image of Bucky's tongue darting out to lap at his cone and the small sounds of pleasure would definitely be keeping Steve up late that night.

As yet, no pictures of any of these dates had gone onto social media and neither of them had mentioned it. Steve had so far chalked that up to the fact it had only really been just over a week, but they’d been seen together by friends and acquaintances.

“So, I figure I’m going to have to find myself a doctor soon,” Bucky said suddenly as they stood idly watching a group playing Frisbee. 

Steve paused for a second, before nodding because actually, yeah. That was a really good point. “It’s probably a good idea to have someone lined up. Will you be going back to your Omega specialist from when you lived here before?”

Bucky shook his head in response. “No, I’m pretty sure she retired honestly. But I was thinking maybe someone from her office instead?”

Not having any more helpful suggestions, Steve nodded. “I guess I’ll need to come along with you?” 

Bucky hummed and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll need you there to sign some things when the pregnancy is medically confirmed and all. Agree to what we’re going to do with my appointments going forward and all… I start work next week, so I’ll schedule for as late in the day as I can? It should mean that I can get away more easily and you’re going to be done with school by then too?”

“That works,” Steve agreed, giving his hand a small squeeze. “I’ll be there for you. Until the end of the line,” he added with a grin.

“I know you will, punk,” Bucky replied with a small chuckle and at the same time Steve’s senses were flooded with the scent of contented Omega. “I… know I might not have been super clear about it when you suggested all this, but I am really grateful for what you’re doing for me - _us_ \- you know. I literally can’t think of anyone else who’d even consider doing something like this.”

Steve turned and gave him a smile, that soft warm feeling he seemed to be getting around Bucky more and more often blossoming in the pit of his stomach. It felt syrupy, sweet, and he knew his own happy Alpha smell was mixing with Bucky’s scent now. 

“Yeah, but most people aren’t as close as we’ve always been to start with, huh? What sort of a friend would I be if I _didn’t_ do this?” He asked, finishing his ice cream and beginning to crunch down on the cone. 

“A normal one?” Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow in Steve’s general direction before smiling.

“Maybe, but I don’t really ever think we’ll be that normal, Buck,” Steve replied, and he was sure that he was right with that. If anything, he was more normal than Bucky whose very existence burned bright in Steve’s world. 

“Probably not. And we’re bringing a kid into that,” Bucky shook his head emphatically then. “Poor little one doesn’t stand a chance.”

Steve felt a stab of something in the pit of his stomach then and he had to search for a second to figure out the exact source but then he got it – he _hated_ Bucky feeling like he was bringing a kid into something that was somehow _less_. 

Bucky wasn’t less; they weren’t less. And the kid – well, that kid would be loved and protected (already was, when Steve let himself think about his pending technical fatherhood) in every way, and that _certainly_ wasn’t less. 

“Buck, this kid will have everything he or she needs, I promise you that. I promise _both_ of you that. When I said I’d take the kid on as mine… well… I meant that.” He said, moving so he was stood just to Bucky’s side, reaching out a hand and brushing his hip, sliding to his lower stomach before he really thought enough to stop himself and then flushing. He glanced to Bucky who nodded, imploring him to continue with his expression alone. “It doesn’t matter if this is a bit unconventional – he or she never needs to know.”

Bucky turned a little more to face him fully, placing a hand over Steve’s on his stomach even as his eyes didn’t leave Steve’s face. Suddenly Steve realized that he looked tearful. 

“Hey, hey now – come here, what did I say?” he asked softly, drawing the Omega in closer to him almost instinctively, pulling them together and feeling very glad that their ice creams were finished.

“Steve, you fucking…. Asshole sap. That was… holy fuck,” Bucky cursed, burying his face into the meat of Steve’s shoulder and taking a few deep gulping breaths and no doubt getting a healthy lungful of Steve’s scent, which was something Steve tried not to think about the implications of.

Instinctively Steve rubbed at Bucky’s back, soothing him as best he could by massaging in small comforting circles. “I’m sorry Buck,” he said quietly, not sure what he’d done wrong but figuring it was the right thing to say regardless.

Bucky took a few more breaths before tipping his nose up a little more, hovering close to Steve’s scent gland in a way that made all the blood in Steve’s body simultaneously rise to his cheeks and drop down to his groin. He fidgeted a little, partly trying to distract himself and partly trying to make sure that his hips weren’t _too_ close to Bucky.

If there was one thing Bucky didn’t need, it was to know about Steve’s apparent problem keeping his own hormones in check when he was around. 

“No, don’t be, that was so nice, that’s the problem… fuck, Steve, I’m sorry – here you are being your usual good guy self and I’m here being some sort of hormonal mess. Literally a hormonal mess, shit,” he murmured, almost like he wasn’t aware of how close his mouth was to that sensitive spot, whilst Steve was hyper aware of the way his words vibrated against it, lighting it up like an exposed nerve. 

“You’re no mess, Buck, but if you’re hormonal ain’t nobody going to blame you,” he murmured, trying to keep his voice low and calming as he continued his movements.

“Stop being nice,” Bucky said thickly, swallowing around his words. “You’ll make it worse, jeez. Just… be quiet and stay where you are, this is helping.”

“Okay,” Steve replied, pressing a soft kiss to Bucky’s forehead before he’d even realized what he had done and flushing even harder. Thankfully Bucky didn’t seem to have noticed anything was amiss, still pressed as he was against Steve’s front with his arms wrapped around his waist. 

After a moment of standing staunch straight and panicking Steve relaxed again, putting his own nose against the top of Bucky’s hair and breathing in deeply. He could actually scent the change in Bucky's hormones as he calmed down and that in turn helped soothe him as well.

Ugh, maybe Sam was right; maybe he _was_ in too deep already. But it was too late now.

“Oh, look,” a teenage girl said as she and her friend walked by, glancing their way giggling. “So cute! I want that someday!” 

Steve snorted a laugh, feeling Bucky do the same. 

“Hear that Stevie? We’re cute,” he murmured, and all Steve could do was laugh and nod, almost glad of the momentary distraction.

“Yeah, we are,” he agreed.

He just wished that they were cute for real.

*****

Later that evening, Bucky posted the first photo of himself and Steve to his Instagram account, tagging Steve in it. It was one of the pictures from that day, of them with the ice creams, and one they had both agreed on from the reel on Bucky's phone.

_”What’s better on a sunny Saturday than a park date?”_

Was the caption he’d gone with and Steve couldn’t help but smile when he saw it, right before plugging his phone in to charge and going to bed. 

He was sure that nobody would think much of it, because really, Steve and Bucky hanging out was nothing unusual especially if they were in the same city and it was the sort of comment he’d have made when they were just friends. Nothing would really come of it, he thought… which was why it was such a surprise when he woke up the next morning to a whole collection of notifications.

He blearily started to look, deciding first to start with Instagram, mainly because the app was still open. 

The photo that Bucky had posted the night before had more likes than anything Steve himself had ever decided to post and so many comments. He scrolled through them all mindlessly blinking as he did. He didn’t recognize most of the usernames, but a few he did. 

_  
**SamWilsonPara:** Cute, really.  
**JoJoMason:** Oh, James – is this why NY? A new guy???  
**BuckyBBarnes:** @JoJoMason – sort of. Steve and I have known each other forever technically, but… ;)  
**JoJoMason:** Aww, how sweet! <3  
**BecsBarnesy:** Wait, you and Steve? Are you serious?  
**BuckyBBarnes:** Yeah Becs, sometimes you see your childhood best friend naked and you just know ;)  
**BecsBarnesy:** Ugh. That’s… wait, does Steve know this is how you’re announcing it on social media?  
**BuckyBBarnes:** Not exactly…  
**BecsBarnesy:** #SoonToBeBackSingle_

__

Steve closed it then, laughing a little bit, before addressing other notifications he had.

There were texts from two out of three of Bucky’s sisters, checking that Bucky wasn’t just having them on. There was a message from Sam that made him roll his eyes, and one from Peggy from work who had met Bucky on one of his visits, and her TA (or possibly more, Steve wasn’t quite sure) Angie too. 

Deciding to start with the first of Bucky’s sisters then, he opened the message. 

**Becca:** So Bucky Bear is telling me that this whole thing with you and him and cute ice cream photos and the word ‘dating’ aren’t part of some elaborate joke. Please confirm? 

Steve rolled his eyes before moving to respond.

 **Steve:** Yeah, we finally got our shit together, apparently – you’re welcome to say congratulations any time you want.

He put a winking smiley face at the end of that and sent it, laughing to himself. Steve might not have any of his own siblings, but he’d essentially been adopted into the Barnes clan at a young age. He felt no guilt in teasing Bucky’s sisters, or threatening to kick someone’s ass on their behalf if it looked necessary. That fact made him a little uncomfortable now, deliberately lying to them, but needs must.

 **Becca:** Well holy shit – you finally got your heads out of your asses. You realize that Mom wanted this to happen when you were teenagers and you both presented, right? Anyway, congratulations for serious! When did this happen?

Steve raised an eyebrow at the comment about them ‘finally getting their heads out of their asses’ because _really_ he and Bucky had never been like _that_ for all that Steve might have had wet dreams on the subject once upon a time...and again more recently in all honesty. 

**Steve:** Er, thanks Becs. I think. And it’s been happening for a while, I guess. We’ve just decided to make it official and really make a go of it.

He knew the reply at least, they’d decided on how to explain that.

 **Becca:** Ew, gross. I get what you’re implying. No more details thanks.

At that, Steve laughed and moved on to dealing with the rest of his messages, individually confirming to everyone that yes, he and Bucky were together and they were happy and getting themselves together.

He lay back then, thinking about the content of them all and realizing that aside from Sam who knew the truth of the matter, all the messages had one thing in common: None of them were surprised that Steve and Bucky had got together and a _lot_ of them had used the word ‘finally’.

Steve had to really concentrate on not thinking too much into that.

He was already very aware that this whole thing was far too easy. Dating Bucky – or _fake_ dating Bucky, he corrected (and really, he _had_ to remember that part where it was fake) – was far more comfortable for Steve than any of the real dates he’d been on in the last few years. Of course, Steve had never dated his friends before, it had always been new people – perhaps it was that.

He had to believe that it was.

*****

“So, you’ve had the Spanish inquisition too, huh?” Bucky asked, wandering into the living room, still soft in one of Steve’s old T shirts and his own pajama bottoms. Of course, he had his own pajama shirts he could have worn but this might help with scent sharing, which would be common if they were a couple - and even if the sight meant Steve had to rearrange how he was sat to not show a visible change in his own bottoms well he'd just have to deal with alone later on.

“Mmm, they seem both super surprised about this and not surprised at all,” Steve admitted, chewing on the edge of his bagel with cream cheese and watching Bucky avidly for a reaction.

“I got the same,” Bucky murmured, moving to the fridge to pour himself a glass of cold water from the filter and coming to sit down next to Steve regardless.

“There’s more bagels if you want one, or bread for toast,” Steve said automatically, unable to help himself from pointing out to a pregnant Omega for the life of him that food was readily available.

In reply, Bucky waved his hand in a motion that could be approximated to mean ‘meh’ and he shook his head. “Not for me, not yet. Feeling a little…” he waved the hand again and Steve found himself flushing now he was faced with one of the more well known symptoms of pregnancy.

“Oh, shit Buck I’m sorry – want me to move over to the arm chair? Can I get you something else instead?” he offered, and Bucky shook his head, giving him a small, curious smile.

“I’m good Stevie, really – male Omegas just struggle with nausea more apparently, something to do with super fast hormone level changes,” he explained and Steve nodded. He _might_ have done a little bit of research and found that to be the case. 

“Okay, if you’re sure. But if there’s anything you particularly want later, all you’ve gotta do is say the word,” he murmured, chewing the edge of his breakfast a little more. 

Again, Bucky nodded, pulling his phone from his pocket and clearly checking something. “Actually, whilst we’re on the subject of it all, my Omega specialist has just emailed me back to confirm – we’ve got an appointment Wednesday at 4.45pm.” 

Something in Steve’s stomach fizzled with something that felt a little tiny bit like excitement, though it shouldn’t be. His brain knew the child wasn’t his, he had no right to get excited about learning more, and yet he couldn’t help it. “Yeah?” he asked with a small smile.

Glancing at Steve and seeing his smile, Bucky responded with his own small, shy one before it spread into a beaming grin. “Yeah.” 

*****

Wednesday, for Steve, was not an easy day. He couldn’t concentrate on anything at all which was a pretty poor show given he was an elementary teacher and spent most of his days trying to get the kids in his class to do just that. 

First period art was good because he could walk around and supervise without having to actively _teach_ for the time being, so that worked out fine, but middle of the day quiet reading time was more difficult. Watching out for kids who might be struggling and eagle-eyeing those not bothering to try and read at all was more challenging when all his mind wanted to do was wander. Thankfully, they had gym class in the afternoon which left them subdued enough that teaching some math at the tail end of the day wasn’t as bad as it could have been and they didn’t put up too much of a fight.

At the end of the day, he got the classroom tidied enough that he wouldn’t regret it the next morning and then he was out of the door as fast as his legs could carry him. He rushed to his car and to the address of the clinic that Bucky had given him, taking a space in the parking lot before getting out and heading inside.

Bucky was already in the waiting room, and Steve’s eyes were drawn directly to him. “Hey, Buck,” he said dropping into the seat next to him with a smile. 

Looking up, a smile crossed Bucky’s own face as Steve sat down. “Hey, you made it,” he said with a grin. 

“Was there ever any doubt? I’ve hardly been able to think about anything but this appointment today,” he admitted, belatedly hoping that particular confession wasn’t too much.

A difficult expression crossed Bucky’s face momentarily before it was lost, not giving Steve time to figure out what it was, though it hadn’t been disgust and that was something. “No, I guess there wasn’t,” he said with a smile and if Steve wasn’t mistaken he moved ever so slightly so that his side was brushing closer to Steve’s. “It just felt kind of weird being here, you know? Like, I know why I’m here but it seems like it’s all just couples then me.”

Steve nodded, he could imagine what that had been like. Some of them might even have judged, especially without the presence of a Mating bite on Bucky’s neck. “Well, me being here should stop that.” 

Bucky nodded and glanced at the time, biting at his lip. Steve’s eyes tracked the motion a little too much before he pulled his gaze very deliberately away, not giving himself time to dwell on the obvious plumpness of them, or the bow shape they held. Instead, he picked up a few leaflets from the rack next to him, taking his time to read the information before they were called.

*****

Once they were in the office, the doctor had introduced herself as Dr Cho, and so far as Steve could tell she was an Omega too which seemed to have an immediate calming effect on Bucky. She spoke like she could relate personally to what he was going through and the prospect of his body changing, and the more she did, the more Bucky relaxed.

That didn’t, however, stop Steve from sitting next to him with an arm curled protectively around his shoulders which was the position he’d subconsciously put them in when they walked in and sat down. Of course, he’d figured it might be an issue, but Bucky hadn’t reacted negatively at all to it, so he figured that wasn‘t the case after all and not knowing how to move without making it (more) weird, he’d left it where it was. 

“So from all of this, I’d say you should be expecting your new arrival towards the end of October – the thirtieth, give or take, so we’ll count that as your due date,” Dr Cho was saying now, jotting that into Bucky’s notes an giving him a smile. “So, that puts you around eight weeks right now. Your next appointment with me should be at twelve. Now a lot of couples choose not to share their news until that point, but do as you will with it,” she explained, and Steve found himself nodding. 

“Do you have any further questions for me at this stage?” She asked then and Steve glanced to Bucky, who was looking back at him with a slightly strange expression on his face, half excitement and half awe. 

“No, I don’t,” he said quietly and she nodded with a small smile on his face. 

“Good, well then, we’ll get you a write-up for some vitamins that would be beneficial and I’ll get some print-outs of information that’ll be important to you and hopefully give you guys some things to think about for later on. Trust me, everything will seem really far away right now at the beginning, but that time will slip away from you quickly as you go along,” She warned and Bucky nodded and laughed.

“I can’t believe I’ve done the first two months already,” Bucky admitted, and Steve gently squeezed his arm where his hand was resting there. 

“See, you’re on the right road. And it seems like you’re really taking this in your stride, long may it continue for you,” Dr Cho said with a smile before she was slipping from the room. 

Steve looked back to Bucky then and gave his arm another little squeeze. “First one done,” he said softly.

“Yeah, thanks for being here and signing everything,” he said, his tone so genuine it pained Steve a little. He turned, wrapping an arm around his friend and pulling him in for a hug. 

“Where else would I be?” He asked and Bucky laughed, though he’d wrapped both of his arms around Steve too, hugging him right back. 

“Most people would have run away screaming honestly,” he admitted, shaking his head. “But not you – instead, you run right into the problem.”

“Not a problem when it’s you, Buck,” he replied, rubbing Bucky’s back soothingly, scenting just the slightest hint of insecurity in his scent, especially now he couldn’t take oral scent blockers due to the pregnancy. The topical ones just weren’t the same. 

“You’re such a punk,” Bucky replied, though at the same time his scent was evening back to that soft comforting scent that Steve found suddenly he was starting to associate with home, probably because after a few weeks it had mixed with his own spicier scent in his apartment which had been driving Steve’s hind brain wild because there was a _happy Omega_ in his home.

“Mmm, you wouldn’t have me any other way,” Steve replied teasingly and Bucky laughed in response, letting off those high happy jasmine notes with his scent now even as he pulled back from the hug. As he moved back Steve could have sworn he took a small inhale of Steve’s collar as he went, but he figured he was imagining things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come see my at [ my tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/oh-i-swear-writes). Asks are always loved & appreciated <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Get a room,” May muttered watching them, which at least made Bucky laugh. He caught Steve’s eye and shook his head.
> 
> “We have one thanks, May. Um, actually I guess that’s kind of what this is about-“ he paused then, wondering if he should pick some sort of poetic flowery way to make the announcement, but that seemed like bullshit for some reason he couldn’t articulate. “I’m pregnant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Thank you, thank you and thank you again for everyone’s support on this one – I cannot say how much your kind words have meant <3   
> \- From here we move right on, and as always there will be two more updates this week <3  
> \- Thanks again to Arsonette and to Emily for editing and art respectively!

B U C K Y 

On the day that marked the eleventh week of his pregnancy, Bucky went to get dressed after his shower but as he slid his jeans up and over his legs and hips, the fit was decidedly tight.

Alright, so they were fresh from the wash but Bucky knew better than to chalk it up to that – it was starting. The time had come where telling their families what was actually going on was going to become inevitable.

Once again, the enormity of what Steve was allowing him to do settled over Bucky and he sat himself down, pants still undone and slung around his waist, pressing a palm to his forehead like he was trying to ward off what felt like an oncoming headache. 

It was such a hard thing to swallow because Bucky had always enjoyed his independence and now here he was, pregnant and reliant on an Alpha. Of course, giving up the baby hadn’t ever been an option he’d seriously considered, no matter how the child was conceived. Bucky didn’t judge anyone who made the choice to do that, but he didn’t think he personally could live with the ‘what if’. He’d also have needed an Alpha to sign off on that, and he had no idea what Pierce would even do if he knew about this.

That said, if Bucky had to be reliant on any Alpha, he’d prefer that out of anybody, it was Steve. 

He trusted Steve.

Steve was his best friend.

It wasn’t Steve’s fault if he was absolutely gorgeous with that shy smile and those ocean blue eyes and shiny blond hair he’d always had. It wasn’t Steve’s fault if he also just so happened to be the best person that Bucky had ever been lucky enough to meet.

It _definitely_ wasn’t his fault if especially living here, seeing how Steve ran his home, how he cared so deeply for the kids in his class and how deeply he seemed to care for Bucky and his baby already, Bucky’s little childhood crush might be back with a vengeance.

No, it certainly wasn’t. 

He didn’t know how he could cope with seeing Steve sitting and casually showing his Alpha dominance by announcing Bucky being pregnant with ‘his’ child to their friends and Bucky’s family – practically proclaiming Bucky as _his_. He _certainly_ didn’t know how he’d cope if Steve was anywhere near as good with the pup as he was with the kids in his class. 

Mr. Rogers was not the most popular elementary school teacher in the place without a good reason behind it.

At the end of the day, Bucky knew he was going to have to suck it up and swallow this little (or not so little) crush. They were going to have to act like a new and besotted couple in front of those people and make it seem believable that they’d not been able to keep their hands off each other in a Heat and this was the result. They’d have to fake being so in love that they’d decided to keep the child regardless of the consequences.

Steve already seemed so warm and affectionate with him that Bucky had no doubts that he’d be able to do it.

What Bucky worried about was whether he could let him without losing his head. And without breaking his heart. 

He gave himself a couple of minutes to breathe, trying to get his nerves down to an acceptable level before breathing in and pulling his jeans enough to get the button and zipper done up. He went to a drawer and pulled out a T-shirt, plain black, which he pulled on over his head before running his hands through his hair to tame it and deciding that was good enough. 

Taking another deep breath, he let himself out of his room and into the lounge.

Of course, Steve was there and he was lounging around on the couch with what Bucky now recognized as his lesson planning notebook. “Morning, Buck,” he said, his natural warm baritone as he acknowledged Bucky’s presence without looking up.

“Morning Steve, lesson plans?” he asked, and Steve nodded. 

“Mmm, figured I’d get the next week or two done. The kids in my class this year just seem to be getting through things, you know?” He asked, before tearing his eyes away from his page. “Anyway, how are you feeling today? Morning sickness should be over soon hopefully, huh?”

Bucky nodded in response. “I’ve actually been pretty lucky with it, all things considered. But we're getting far enough along now that we're getting to a different problem – my pants are tight.” 

Steve, who had gone back to what he was doing, looked up properly again then. Those beautiful blue eyes were wide. “Oh,” he breathed, eyes tearing away from Bucky’s own then wandering down to his abdomen which mercifully didn’t _look_ any different.

“Look,” he said, almost feeling the need to properly prove his point, pulling the hem of his T-shirt up just a little and pushing a finger below the waistband, showing how difficult it actually was for a pair of jeans that had been relatively well-fitting beforehand.

“So they are,” Steve said with a smile. “We should go shopping.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, a warm feeling of fondness settling into him in a way that made him completely sure he was stinking up the room with his ‘happy Omega’ scent. “I’m fine right now, Steve. Besides, you hate clothes shopping. No, I… look, we only have a week until this is meant to be safe, right? Perhaps… we should consider telling some people?”

Steve blinked a couple of times, eyes almost reluctantly pulling away from Bucky’s general stomach area, reminding Bucky to drop the strip of T-shirt fabric he was still holding. “I… yeah?” he asked. There was something else in his tone, though. Something that didn’t sound obligated, but instead sounded…. Excited? But that couldn’t be right – Steve wouldn’t really be excited about that, would he?

“I think so,” Bucky nodded, giving a soft shy smile and blushing a little. “Who do we start with?”

“I… think your family are gonna be gutted if we don’t start there, Buck,” he said, running a hand through his hair and tousling it, one strand sticking straight out. Bucky had the inexplicable urge to move closer, to flatten it down for him carefully, touch the silky strands and run them through his fingers… 

Shaking his head, Bucky tore his brain out of that gutter before he got too far into it. Again.

“I mean, yeah, they probably will. We’ll never hear the end of it,” Bucky admitted, trying not to sound as flustered as he absolutely _was_ from the conversation they were having. 

“So, we either bring them here to tell them, we take them out for a meal, or we do it one by one. Which do you think would be best?” He asked, and Bucky really, _really_ liked the fact that Steve always seemed to be wanting to give him the choice even in a situation like this where he knew everyone involved.

“Let’s invite them here, we can order some pizza or something so neither of us need to cook – maybe a Friday evening?” he suggested, thinking of his sisters’ own work and school obligations, as well as his mother and father’s schedules. 

Steve nodded. “Sure, this Friday coming if they’re free?”

Bucky smiled, feeling distinctly nervous but knowing it had to come sooner rather than later given his expanding waistline. “I’ll call them later and see,” he confirmed. He was sure they’d know something was up, but at least they wouldn’t have long to pester him about it. 

*****

Bucky felt like he could be sick and it was nothing to do with his hormones. His family knew he and Steve were ‘together’, and they knew that Bucky had initially stayed with Steve on his return to New York and had just never left. They were about to find out he was pregnant though and that was _terrifying_.

There was something very strange about the idea of admitting to his parents that there was a bun in his oven – mainly because whilst Bucky was thirty and they likely knew he wasn’t some sort of blushing virgin despite not being Mated, it was admitting with evidence in tow that he had, in fact, had sex.

Sex with Steve.

He needed to stop thinking about this.

And especially the ‘sex with Steve’ part.

He didn’t really know what to do with himself and was partly glad they weren’t due for over an hour, and partly wishing they had less time to kill. He and Steve had already ordered in pizza for delivery a little later, Bucky knowing that his mother would probably disprove and that his father would be thankful for an excuse to eat junk. Still, it was easy to feed a family on, it was picky food, and it wouldn’t matter if his mother got totally carried away with the news she was about to be given and talked continuously allowing the food to go cold.

“Buck, I can smell you’re anxious from here,” Steve said, coming from his own room into the living room. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Save me from having to admit to my parents that I’ve had sex?” Bucky asked, knowing how ridiculous and dramatic he sounded in that moment. Steve clearly knew too, because it drew a chuckle from him.

“Buck, I have to admit to your parents who have known me since before I can remember that I’ve had sex with you and knocked you up when I haven’t,” he pointed out, the corners of his lips curling with amusement as his eyes crinkled at the edges. Bucky had to stop paying so much attention to how Steve looked. 

“Would it be worse if you had?” Bucky asked, giving him a small teasing smile.

“You know what? I actually think that it would,” Steve replied, before coming closer and wrapping an arm around him, pulling him in close. “You know, we should probably have thought of making ourselves a little more comfy with touching like this before inviting them over.”

Bucky winced, because he actually _had_ thought of that. The thing was, he didn’t know how to ask to be close to Steve, and he didn’t know how he would physically do it without making life even more awkward and difficult for himself. The thing was, the more time he spent in Steve’s apartment which was filled with Steve’s scent watching Steve go around being all _Steve Rogers_ about everything, the more he was convinced that he was completely and utterly fucked.

Fake dating and pretending to have a child with his best friend he’d always had a bit of a crush on, especially when he was super hormonal, had not been his smartest move to put things lightly.

And now here Bucky was paying for that.

Fabulous.

“Um, I… yeah,” he replied, hoping his cheeks weren’t as pink as they felt like they might be in light of his highly verbose response. “Perhaps we should… uh, try now?” 

Wow. Fantastic idea, Barnes. And he’d been so eloquent in his suggestion too, top marks.

Steve gave him a cheeky grin at that. “Buck, you’re the one standing awkwardly straight, just… yeah.”

He was moving now, rearranging Bucky slightly and somehow slipping closer. They were both pretty tall, with Steve just having the edge on him and with this change in position Steve had made it so that they were entirely pressed together. Where their bodies touched, Bucky could feel that Steve was warm and solid and he was sure that goose flesh was rising on his skin when Steve’s hand skated around his back and curled protectively around his hip.

Well, Bucky couldn’t just leave it at that. He put his own arm around, resting his hand on Steve’s lower back and when that didn’t get any sort of obvious reaction, he slipped it down more into the back pocket of Steve’s jeans.

And that… that was a mistake.

How Bucky had never truly realized how exactly Steve’s butt was shaped was beyond him now. It was firm and curved and Bucky could feel that it was _toned_. Of course, it made sense – Bucky clearly knew about the hours that Steve put in at the gym – had been known to join him before all of this, but having theoretical knowledge was very different to having the evidence literally under your hand.

He swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling dry.

Steve had frozen, but like he didn’t want Bucky to notice he moved back to looking comfortable immediately. Fuck, he was covering his own discomfort for Bucky’s benefit – did that make Bucky more of an asshole? 

Whilst Steve insisted that he wasn’t, Bucky couldn’t help but feel a bit like one for taking advantage of Steve’s offer to do all of this for him in the first place. And here Steve was, happily standing there and willing to make it so that he absolutely couldn’t back out, because once people knew that was it. It was done.

“Hey, come back to me, Buck, what are you panicking about? I’m trying to make this more comfortable for you, not less,” he said, his voice a deep baritone murmur in Bucky’s ear, almost making him shiver.

“I just… you know once we tell them this there’s no take backs for you? Like, this is it. If you want to back out, this really is your last chance,” he warned.

Like an asshole, Steve just shrugged and nodded as if this were no big deal. “I know,” he replied simply before sighing.

He turned and before Bucky could do much about it, Steve was in front of him and pulling him into a real hug. Steve hugged like he did everything else in his life – putting his whole body and everything he had into it. 

One minute Bucky was standing on his own two feet, and the next he was entirely wrapped in Steve Rogers, wonderful spicy scent and all that went with it. Steve’s thick arms were around him and he had Bucky’s torso pulled into that broad, muscular chest. Without thinking, Bucky wrapped his own arms around him and held tight, taking comfort in the way that Steve smelled completely calm. 

“There you go,” Steve crooned rubbing his big hands up and down Bucky’s back, thankfully on the outside of his shirt… though Bucky might have thought for half a second what it might feel like without the fabric in the way before wrenching his mind as far away from _that_ as possible.

That was most definitely off limits.

Still Bucky allowed himself to melt, relaxing against his friend’s solid form.

From here Steve’s scent was stronger, almost pulling Bucky forwards in a subconscious motion because all Bucky wanted was to lean into the bergamot and orange. It was so perfect for him really, a wholesome clean scent and almost every bit as attractive and irresistible as the man himself.

“Buck, you… can, you know,” Steve said quietly and Bucky realized just then why exactly that scent was so strong. At some point Steve had tilted his head to the side. He was _offering_ his neck – and the sensitive scent glands there – to Bucky in a very un-Alpha display of trust. Bucky supposed he shouldn’t be surprised – part of what he’d always admired about Steve was that whilst he was a specimen of an Alpha as if someone had ripped the Alpha ideal from their own imagination, he had none of the toxic Alpha-ness that a lot of them did. Hell, the guy taught elementary school kids when he looked like he should be a personal trainer or in the military. 

“I…” Bucky wanted to. He wanted to _so_ badly. “Um, I guess if I scent you and you scent me… I mean, we should smell like each other, right?” 

And yeah, okay, the excuse was weak. Despite their separate bedrooms Bucky and Steve shared a living space, and it wasn’t like they spent their spare time hiding in their respective rooms. The apartment already smelled like a combination of them both, it was natural that their own scents would mix slightly too. It was why Alphas and Omegas didn’t often become roommates for fear of putting off potential Mates. 

Steve paused for a second and something flashed in his eyes, some feeling that Bucky was too slow in noticing to get a good read on, though his scent didn’t change so he figured it couldn’t be major.

“Yeah, Buck. It makes a lot of sense,” Steve replied quietly, moving his head more to give Bucky fuller access. 

If Bucky were a stronger man, he might have had more dignity in that moment. But he wasn’t, and so he didn’t. He moved, pressing his nose into the skin where Steve’s shoulder and neck met, circling around the area of his scent gland before pressing right into it.

Immediately, he knew it was a mistake when he let out a little involuntary noise, somewhere between a mewl and a purr. The scent of Steve was so overwhelming here and it was delicious and seductive. The citrus notes of orange were still there but with notes of bergamot and a buttery leathery undertone that made Bucky’s toes curl in pleasure inside of the thick socks he was wearing to pad around the apartment in.

Steve’s hands, instead of pushing him away, seemed to be pulling him in closer – though maybe that was just wishful thinking on Bucky’s behalf. 

Bucky let himself nuzzle and languish in how safe and comfortable and homely all of this felt, Steve’s natural warmth radiating through him too, before he realized that his dick had given a few involuntary twitches in his pants and he could feel the tingling at the bottom of his spine that signalled arousal.

He pulled back, trying not to let on to Steve that there was anything wrong here, and hoping that his scent hadn’t changed obviously yet.

Looking back up, Bucky found Steve’s eyes wide as he looked back at him, his top teeth sunk into his bottom lip. His own cheeks were a little pink, but that was probably because they’d just done something new, something they’d never done together before because it was usually reserved for established couples. 

“You… uh… you okay there?” Bucky asked nervously, wondering if everything he was thinking and feeling was written as obviously over his face as he thought it might be.

Steve nodded then, exhaling and Bucky couldn’t help but feel a little like a moment had just been shattered between them, though he had no idea what sort of a moment and how it had happened. 

“Yeah, Buck, I’m good. Are you?” he asked and all Bucky could do was nod.

He took stock for a second before realizing what the natural next step of this was. “You, uh, you want your turn?” he asked, fidgeting just a touch because the idea of Steve’s _mouth_ so close to his own gland was both terrifying and wonderful and Bucky wanted it with every fiber of his being whilst being absolutely terrified of it at the same time.

“I… yeah,” Steve said, almost like the decision was ripped from him, though again Bucky was certain he was just projecting here. 

Bucky nodded, feeling suddenly very exposed. What if Steve didn’t like his scent? Did he want it to have the same effect on Steve that Steve’s had on his? Was it more or less problematic? 

He couldn’t tell.

Still, he moved, exposing his own mark with a tilt of his head. Steve paused for just a second before leaning down.

Bucky could feel the moment the tip of Steve’s nose pressed into his neck, and the small surprised exhale of warm breath he let out against the sensitive skin. It circled around his mating gland, Steve apparently content to enjoy driving Bucky out of his fucking mind without even realizing he was doing it. 

Fighting to keep his breathing level, Bucky let him explore, closing his eyes and focusing on not letting himself have any embarrassing natural reactions to this, especially as Steve moved ever closer.

Within the few seconds it took for Steve to reach that spot, Bucky went from a little jittery to feeling like all of his blood was thrumming beneath his skin. It felt so intimate, so close and it _was_ , but it was _Steve_. 

He stopped right there and Bucky could feel him inhaling deeply, breathing in all of the pheromones that Bucky was letting off. Bucky was sure he should move, should stop this because he definitely had a semi now and the hint of arousal with it would definitely be pumping out of him especially to Steve at such close quarters. 

But Steve didn’t seem bothered. 

In fact, Steve seemed to be happy to press close. 

Bucky wanted him to back away.

Bucky wanted him closer. 

Bucky wanted him to _lick_ , to _bite_. 

He shuddered a little and Steve drew back, checking him over. “You okay there, Buck?” He asked.

Bucky nodded, trying to get his breathing back under control, trying not to look like a teenager fresh from his first Heat and a complete hormonal mess. He wasn’t sure that he was doing a good job.

Still, Steve didn’t say anything about it, just looked Bucky over, very gently stepping back and looking slightly… was that embarrassed?

“Well, good – and I’d say we definitely have each other’s scent by now,” he said with a soft chuckle and again, all Bucky could do was nod.

Ideally he could do with a cold shower, he thought, hoping that any movement he made didn’t make his cock think it was go time any more than it clearly did right now – but for one thing it would invalidate the point of what they’d just done and for another he didn’t have time.

The clock in Steve’s kitchen had moved, and by now the Barnes family invasion was more than imminent. 

It was show time.

*****

Bucky glanced at Steve, who nodded. The Barneses had gradually arrived, Becca coming first, followed by his parents with May and then Sophie. They’d made a fuss of both him and Steve, and they’d done drinks before the food had arrived.

But that had come and most of the pizza and sides had been eaten by now. Bucky had spent the time sitting on the loveseat next to Steve, the Alpha’s body pressed against his once again from shoulder to knee down through their thighs. Steve’s hand had come to rest at the top of Bucky’s leg which was warm and comforting and in view of their little scenting session before all of this it felt somewhat erotic. Like some sort of promise, though Bucky knew it certainly wasn’t that. 

“So, uh, we’ve got something to tell you,” Bucky said, clearing his throat beforehand to make sure he had their attention. 

“Buck, we know you’re disgustingly happy and you’re not moving out. Honestly, that hardly needs an announcement,” Becca informed him, rolling her eyes at the both of them. “Anyone with eyes and a sense of smell could tell you that. Heck, Sophie could probably tell you and she’s a Beta.”

“Becca,” Bucky’s mother chipped in warningly, knowing that being the only Beta out of four children – despite it being unusual – was something of a sore point for her middle daughter even if her siblings had reassured her it would be less problematic for her in the long run. 

Becca rolled her eyes but was quiet again.

“You were saying, James?” His father asked and Bucky squirmed. It was somehow more awkward with his _Dad_ asking than anyone else.

Steve could clearly tell Bucky’s distress in all of this and gave his thigh a comforting, reassuring squeeze.

“You want me to do it?” he murmured softly, leaning into Bucky and speaking quietly in his ear.

“Get a room,” May muttered watching them, which at least made Bucky laugh. He caught Steve’s eye and shook his head.

“We have one thanks, May. Um, actually I guess that’s kind of what this is about-“ he paused then, wondering if he should pick some sort of poetic flowery way to make the announcement, but that seemed like bullshit for some reason he couldn’t articulate. “I’m pregnant.”

The words were met with a stark silence as all four members of Bucky’s family looked at them. And then, all chaos let loose.

“Oh my god, that’s amazing and gross!” Becca was shouting, her voice easily the loudest as her face split into a grin. “I’m gonna be an Auntie!” 

“Pregnant? Are you sure?” Winnie Barnes was asking and Bucky looked at his Mom’s face, finding it splitting into a wide smile of her own. 

“Yeah, it’s been confirmed by my Omega specialist,” he replied and she stood then, crossing the room. Bucky stood, accepting the hug and being wrapped in his Mother’s arms.

“Well congratulations to you both!” George said, standing and crossing the room, offering Steve a hand to shake which he took.

Stealing a glance at the Alpha’s face, Bucky realized that Steve was smiling and radiating proud, happy alpha just like he might if the child were his own. 

“Thank you, sir – we’re really pleased,” Steve was saying and honestly, nobody would have known that anything in this scene was amiss. Once again, Bucky had to remind himself not to get too lost in this fantasy, not to allow himself to get so wrapped up in it that the lines started to blur for him. He couldn’t allow that. 

“We were a bit worried telling you all because we know it’s soon, but Heat and… well…” Bucky said, blushing as he said the words, because this was a subject he didn’t want to get too much into.

“It is, and if it were anyone but Steve, I’d be far more concerned but really James, you’re thirty,” his mother replied, pulling back from Bucky a little only to step forward again, dragging Steve into the hug too despite the fact that she was shorter than both of them. 

Bucky should feel relieved, though a tiny part of him felt guilty for the lie.

That said, he could see what she meant: anyone but Steve and this would be so much more trouble.

*****

“Okay, so if we just…” Dr Cho said, moving the ultrasound wand down and pressing hard into Bucky’s lower stomach in a way that made the fact he already had to pee (a pre requisite of this whole appointment) so much worse.

But then, something flickered on the black screen in front of them, a few lines, and then... 

“Okay, there we go, that’s your womb here and that’s… yep. There’s baby,” she said, glancing over at them. 

Bucky was completely taken by it. The head was obvious and the body looked just like any image of an ultrasound scan Bucky had ever seen. “Does it look alright?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

Steve’s hand slipped into his own then, lacing their fingers and giving it a reassuring squeeze. He looked across at Steve then, finding the blonde’s face totally overcome, too. Looking at the scene, Bucky knew nobody would know that Steve was not the child’s biological father.

But in that moment, Bucky had the realization it didn’t matter.

Looking at Steve’s face, he knew that Steve would be the child’s father regardless and the thought choked him slightly, especially with Steve pumping out proud, happy protective Alpha pheromones and not making any effort to stop.

“Everything looks healthy, the measurements are good from what I can tell – would you like a picture to take with you?” She asked and both of them nodded, eyes not moving from the screen.

From the baby.

Bucky’s baby, which was currently growing inside of him. The baby Bucky loved so damn much already he was willing to lie to practically everyone he knew to keep him or her safe.

Dr. Cho nodded, leaving them with their moment and slipping from the room. 

Steve looked between Bucky and the screen looking like he wanted to say or do something, but now knowing what, and Bucky was sure that the expression was reflected on his own face.

If they left the clinic that day still hand in hand after Steve had signed them in for the next scan in eight weeks time, neither of them said anything and neither of them discussed it when they got home.

*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come see me on my [ my tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/oh-i-swear-writes)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That said, what _did_ surprise Steve was what happened next. 
> 
> Bucky angled his face, and leant in in a way that Steve could easily recognize. Desperately trying not to overthink it as he moved, Steve leaned down and kissed Bucky’s lips, which were warm and soft and moving against him in the most hypnotic of ways.
> 
> Steve moved a hand, gently resting on Bucky’s jaw, guiding him to stay put, not wanting to stop this anytime soon. It was so overwhelming to all of Steve’s senses and sensibilities that he momentarily forgot that they weren’t alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- So, after the reception the last chapter got, I’ve decided to release the extended cut of this one – thank you all for your support and sorry to Lotti who hasn’t seen this.  
> \- As such, certain chunks of this chapter are un-beta read and all mistakes are mind.  
> \- Also you all liked the scenting last time… there may or may not be more <3   
> \- There is also smut. I hope you enjoy the smut.  
> \- Thank you so much for the love and support!

S T E V E 

“So, how goes the fake dating?” Sam asked as they sat in his and Steve’s favourite Vietnamese restaurant which was conveniently close to their gym and therefore made for a good place to relax after a good work out. 

Sitting in front of his steaming bowl of chicken pho with a side of summer rolls, Steve sighed. He’d known this was coming, he was just surprised Sam hadn’t brought it up when he was spotting him and he was effectively trapped underneath a weight so he couldn’t escape. 

“Fine, everyone seems to believe it,” he replied non committedly, dipping a roll in some satay sauce. 

“Uh huh, have you ever thought about why that might be?” He asked, his tone making it obvious he was fishing for something. Steve didn’t even need to look up to know exactly what face he was pulling. In fact, out of pure stubbornness, he wasn’t _going_ to look up. 

“Because it makes sense?” Steve asked, stuffing the roll into his mouth so that he didn’t have to answer any further. 

“Y’all know I don’t agree with that, or at least not like you think I should agree with it. Anyway, I can see you’re still not willing to accept this is completely stupid for any reason I might give, so I’m gonna go ahead and eat my bahn mi and try not to judge,” he said, picking up the sandwich in front of him.

Steve sighed. He knew Sam was judging despite what he said, and deep down he knew that technically he was right to do so. “I wish you’d do it more quietly,” he grumbled nonetheless. 

“No can do, man, no can do,” Sam replied teasingly and Steve could only sigh again. 

*****

“You could, you know, try them on?” Steve suggested, immediately getting a scowl back from Bucky at the very suggestion. 

“Steve, I know what size pants I wear,” Bucky replied his voice thick with the foul mood he was in. They were in a store dedicated to maternity wear and baby goods, and were somewhere deep into the ‘male omega’ section. 

Steve debated for a few seconds whether he should point out that Bucky had _known_ his pants size before his body had started to change with his pregnancy. His size now could be quite different, although in fairness, maternity pants sizes _should_ translate across. Not having ever worn them Steve didn’t know… but he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Bucky's mood if they’d come all the way out here to buy new clothes only to find they didn’t fit once they got them back home.

He decided, upon taking one look at Bucky, that it absolutely wasn’t worth crossing him on this regardless. Even if it meant bringing everything back himself later in the week after work. 

“Just because they have some… weird stretchy top thing going on here doesn’t mean I suddenly don’t, I mean, it can’t change that much…” Bucky was muttering now, approaching another rack of jeans – plain black this time – and looking through them tempestuously.

Steve looked over Bucky’s body. It really hadn’t changed that much. Whilst his pants were definitely tighter and he had taken to wearing looser T-shirts in the place of anything fitted, it wasn’t even obvious he’d put on any weight. Or at least, it wasn’t in those places.

Whilst he was ashamed to admit it – or he definitely should be – Steve _had_ noticed that perhaps Bucky’s hips were a touch rounder and his thighs thicker.

It did things to Steve.

Things he was even _less_ proud of.

“No, it probably won’t Buck,” he agreed, rubbing a soothing circle to the bottom of Bucky’s back as if he had any right to. 

Bucky gave him the eye, scowl still firmly in place. “Probably?”

Steve shrugged. “Well, stuff from different places fits differently,” he reasoned, suddenly realizing that he was relying on a change in Bucky’s scent to tell him how his comments had been received. That was… strangely intimate but he was going to have to roll with it. 

Bucky sighed, not moving away from Steve precisely but not letting up on his frown either. “Fuck you, Steve, fuck you and your calming pheromones,” he grumbled, shoulders softening slightly. 

Steve… hadn’t even realized he was letting those off and took a moment to sniff his own collar. “I…”

Bucky just gave him a small, almost fond and slightly exasperated look. “I know,” he admitted quietly, looking at his basket. “I guess I should go and try these on after all, huh?” 

“Yeah, probably,” Steve admitted, very aware he was still blushing because _that_ , that was a _lot_. 

He didn’t know exactly _when_ he’d got so attuned to Bucky and his needs to the point that his body was acting like any expectant Alpha father’s would, but clearly it had happened. Steve panicked for a moment because if anything was going to give away the fact that pregnant or not Steve Rogers had a huge crush on Bucky Barnes then this was it, but Bucky was still loading up his basket as he made his way over to the changing rooms. Nothing in his manner indicated anything was amiss.

Perhaps Steve had gotten away with it for now and Bucky just thought it was friendly caring with a healthy dose of secondary gender chemistry. 

He was going to have to believe that not to die of embarrassment. 

*****

Steve supposed that he shouldn’t be surprised when Becca Barnes finally approached him directly. He’d received a text message from her asking to meet and he knew this was some sort of Alpha sibling protectiveness despite the fact that she was the younger of the two. He could understand, especially where Bucky was concerned.

“Hey Becca,” he said, walking into the coffee shop they’d agreed to meet in and despite himself feeling uncharacteristically nervous around a member of Bucky’s family.

He’d deliberately been careful to sit close to Bucky before he’d left, letting himself get some residual scent, but not wanting to make the Omega uncomfortable he hadn’t specified where he was going or whom he was meeting. He knew Bucky would feel weird about it or bad, and Steve couldn’t have that.

“Steve,” she replied warmly, which somewhat allayed his concerns if not fully. “Come on, let’s get this done.”

“Coffee on me?” he asked, holding the door open for her and getting a smile that reminded him so firmly of Bucky’s it was almost a shock. There was certainly no question as to whether or not the two of them were siblings, that was for certain.

“You know it,” she replied with a smile as they approached the counters and made their orders before sitting down next the back. “So, I don’t think I need to say to you what I’m going to say, but I kind of feel like I have to do it anyway. Don’t hurt him, Steve,” She said lightly but firmly. 

“I would never, certainly not deliberately,” he replied, tone naturally earnest because he absolutely meant what he was saying. “I know this is all a bit sudden and all, but it’s what we both want,” he said, keen not to tell outright lies and that _wasn’t_. Bucky wanted the baby, and Steve had always wanted kids – and he had also always wanted Bucky. It made sense.

“I just… you know Buck. He likes to pretend stuff doesn’t bother him when he does, wears his heart on his sleeve for a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m mostly glad it’s you and you finally got yourselves together and besides that he looks so happy when he’s with you,” she said, giving Steve a reassuring smile. “But just be aware that I will not hesitate to tear you limb from limb if I have to – I’m not sure how yet given you’re…. well. You look like any advert for a gym, honestly – but I will.” 

“I don’t doubt it,” Steve replied, giving her a small smile and sort of appreciating the effort on Bucky’s behalf. 

“Good, I mean it, and May and Sophie will help me hide any evidence. Not to mention Mom,” she added, laughing a bit though honestly Steve didn’t think it was any laughing matter – Winnie Barnes was a force to be reckoned with.

“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Steve replied and she nodded, sitting back and making it clear she’d said her piece. Steve only hoped that it wouldn’t end up hurting him instead.

*****

It was a good thing they’d gone to buy the maternity clothes when they did. From the first point where Bucky’s formerly flat and toned stomach had started to gain a small round pooch, it seemed to have gotten much bigger and quickly. His hips really _had_ rounded a little, but compared to the now-growing bump that was a minor detail.

The first time Steve had really noticed his friend’s body rapidly changing was when he managed to get out of work just a little bit early and had come home finding Bucky laid across the length of the couch. He was casually watching TV, a hand resting on his tummy and it was just slightly curved.

The sight had brought a small, soft smile to Steve’s lips at the time as he’d bustled in and put down his work stuff saying a quick ‘hi’ to Bucky as he passed and getting a smile and a greeting in return.

Of course, Steve had expected the bump to grow. 

What he had not expected was how his own feelings would grow with it, and not just those he already had for Bucky, but the feelings of Alpha protectiveness and a strange yearning to _provide_ that he’d never experienced in this intensity before. 

Steve just hoped that he could keep all of his feelings under control enough to be able to continue to function and it might have worked if he didn’t realize right about the time that Bucky switched into the maternity pants full time that seeing that bump did things for him. Of course, he knew in his brain that biologically the baby wasn’t his and he had no rights to any of this, but his biology knew no such thing and he struggled constantly to keep his eyes from wandering down Bucky’s form and settling on his bump especially when he knew that Bucky was self conscious about it. 

Steve might have gotten away with it but for one issue. 

“Steve, we have a problem,” Bucky said one day looking up from his phone. Steve had just got in from his morning run and was chugging down a glass of water to try and rehydrate because it was warm outside with New York City rolling into the summer season.

“Huh?” he asked, wiping his arm across his forehead and feeling the front of his hair stick unpleasantly to the sweaty skin there. He pulled a face at the unpleasant feeling. 

“My parents’ have got their anniversary so the family’s coming into town and we’re short on places for them to stay. She can have my aunt and uncle at their house, and she’s asked if we’ll… you know. Have my sisters here. Because we have a second bedroom _and_ the sofa they could use,” he said, pulling a face.

Not quite understanding the issue with the situation at hand, Steve shrugged. “I mean, yeah but…”

“ _But_ ,” Bucky pointed out, talking over him. “The bed she is suggesting that one of my sisters sleeps in is the bed that _I_ currently sleep in.”

And it dawned on Steve.

Because of _course_ \- Bucky’s family thought they were actually a couple. And couple’s sleep in the same bed and…

Steve scrambled for a solution that could work. “Uh, we could try and make it sound like fun, like they’re having a camp out in the living…” he started before Bucky shook his head.

“That won’t work, they’ll still wonder why I’m coming out of the spare room, and sure I have a baby bump these days, but it’s not like it’s anywhere near big enough that we’d be pushed for spare sharing a bed,” Bucky deadpanned and Steve realized that yeah, he was right.

Besides that, they were supposed to be a new couple in love expecting their baby. Hell, Steve should be being driven mad by Bucky’s hormones and yes, alright, he _was_ but that should mean they were _definitely_ sharing a bed. And sharing other activities…

“So basically we either get out of it, or we share a bed for…?” He asked, realizing he didn’t even know the timescale they were working to. 

“Two nights. The one before the party and the night of the party,” he replied and Steve nodded, thinking it over.

On the one hand, he had no issue whatsoever sharing a bed with Bucky. They’d done it when they were kids, and they’d definitely dozed on the couch together now, but that was hardly the same thing. 

Now they were both grown men, and they needed space and nocturnal boners were definitely a thing as was Steve’s growing amour for Bucky. 

If he was more of a dreamer, Steve might think that he was capable of getting away with this and waking up on his own side of the bed, not an errant erection in sight and not pressing their bodies together and cuddling like a champion.

But he wasn’t.

Steve was realistic. 

He was very much a cuddler in his sleep and he knew it. There was every chance he’d wake up pressed against Bucky, spooned in close with their legs tangled together and his hard cock pushing into the roundness of Bucky’s ass, his nose tucked to his best friend’s neck enjoying that wonderful Omega smell.

There was no way he could risk that. 

But then, he equally couldn’t be the one to say a definite hard no to this without arousing (and what a terrible choice of word _that_ was in this situation) suspicion.

Watching Bucky’s face, Steve swallowed. “Ah.”

“Yeah, ‘ah’,” Bucky replied and Steve was sure that for some reason his cheeks were a little pink. “I mean… I just…”

“We’ll get by,” Steve said, suddenly realizing that one of them needed to be decisive in this or this strange, awkward stalemate that seemed to have developed between them over the topic. “I mean, it’s two nights, right?” 

“Right,” Bucky replied, giving Steve a smile which looked – for whatever reason – about as confident as Steve felt about this whole thing. 

*****

The morning that May and Sophie were due to arrive found Bucky and Steve moving Bucky’s stuff into Steve’s room, combining their clothes within the wardrobes and drawers and scattering some of Bucky’s few personal artefacts between Steve’s. It looked… feasible. And what was left in the second bedroom could be explained by the fact that Steve’s room, whilst spacious enough for him, wasn’t huge and there just wasn’t enough storage space in there for a couple.

When they were done, Steve wiped his arm back across his forehead. “Well, that’s a good job well done,” he said, and Bucky nodded. “So, do you want to shower first, or…?” 

Bucky thought for a second. “I’ll shower first but then….”

And yeah, Steve knew what was coming. “Help yourself to one of my sweaters whilst I shower, then we can…” because of _course_ following a shower they wouldn’t smell enough like a couple who shared a bed because there would be nothing to linger around their scent glands. And whilst Sophie was a Beta and probably wouldn’t notice, May certainly would. 

They both knew it; they were going to have to scent one another deliberately again.

And really, last time had been enough of a struggle. Steve didn’t know if he could get through a repeat performance. 

Actually, whilst he had tried to sleep the night before, he had truly realized what exactly he’d let himself in for with this weekend. Scenting Bucky and being scented (again), getting up close and personal with Bucky’s changing (and undeniably sexy with it) body, sleeping beside Bucky and not doing anything or turning into some sort of creepy sleeptopus AND acting coupley non-stop (because of _course_ he was invited to the party too) in front of Bucky’s family all weekend.

But it was fine.

Steve could do it.

“Yeah,” Bucky finished, nodding – though Steve wasn’t sure to which of them – before doing an about turn and heading himself into the bathroom.

*****

Steve pottered whilst Bucky showered. It wasn’t out of necessity – they’d fully prepared for this visit – but more out of something to do, to keep his mind and body moving and not focused entirely on the idea of that scenting, even though he was _thrumming_ with the idea and memory of it. 

Eventually, he heard the shower water shut off and Bucky moving around in there before the door to the bathroom clicked open and Bucky padded across the hall, his own bedroom door shutting. 

He couldn’t help but focus, just for a second, on the fact that Bucky was naked in his room even if Steve was out here rather than in there with him.

Swallowing and pushing that down, Steve slipped himself off into the bathroom and ran the shower as hot as he could stand for it to be. He peeled off the comfy home clothes he was wearing and dumped them in a pile by the door before laying a towel down for when he got out and stepping into the spray.

The heat of the water felt good against his skin, but it did nothing to calm his thoughts or his body.

As Steve saw it right now, he had two options. The first was that he could get himself off pre-emptively in the shower and try and take the edge off of whatever was to come later. The risk involved was that even if he really scrubbed himself, there was the possibility that he would still have some residual pheromones on his scent when Bucky pressed his nose into his neck in the near future.

The second was that he did the opposite and just tried to keep it under control, tried not to be affected by the gorgeous Omega all over him.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

He would have to risk Option One.

Allowing himself the luxury, Steve ran his fingers tentatively down his body. He wanted to take his time and really wring out his own satisfaction but realistically, they had minimal time to be clean and be ready for the arrival of Bucky’s two youngest siblings. 

This would have to be quick and it would have to be quiet.

Sliding his hand down further, Steve felt the small trail of dark blond hair leading from his bellybutton, over his abs and down to his cock.

It wasn’t yet hard, but it hung heavily between his thighs probably because of how _aware_ Steve was of it’s very presence and of where his thoughts were. Cupping himself, he gave it an experimental squeeze before sliding further and doing the same to his balls. 

He gripped against the side of the shower finding little purchase in the tiles but it didn’t matter. Wrapping his large palm around his shaft, he gently rubbed himself, teasing to hardness and watching as his cock grew in length and girth, enough to fill his hand and then beyond. 

Allowing his eyes to flutter closed, Steve breathed in through his nose, careful to keep his teeth pressed firmly into his lower lip lessening the chance that he would accidentally make any incriminating noise and alert Bucky to precisely what he was doing in here. 

As soon as he was hard enough, he moved to pumping himself in earnest. He allowed his wrist to flick in just the right way, a little turn in the motion which he knew riled him up further. But there was no slow teasing or alternating the motion like he would when he was alone in bed late at night. This was perfunctory, after all.

As he continued, Steve’s mind began to wander regardless. To fantasize. He knew what he was doing even before he began, but he couldn’t stop it. His mind filled with images of gorgeous dark-haired Omegas with beautiful smiles and dimples in their chins, broad shoulders and thick thighs and a scent sweet and homely like fresh bed linen. 

Steve panted a little, allowing himself that, and allowing the pool of guilt in his stomach to dissipate because this felt too good. In his mind, he could hear Bucky whispering filthy things in his ear, to _his_ Alpha, asking Steve to fill him, make him come on his knot…

And then, Steve was coming, biting down hard to stop any noise. The resulting sound was a strange half-gagged gasp, a strangled noise that cut off just quick enough. The release went on, pulsing from the tip of his cock, which he squeezed in his hand, wringing out his orgasm and gasping for breath. It ran down over Steve’s knuckles, visible only for a few seconds before the water of the shower washed it down the drain.

When he was done, Steve gingerly moved his hand away and tipped his head back, allowing the spray to rinse his face almost like it would wash his guilty expression clean away with it.

*****

After he finished in the bathroom, Steve stepped out and walked across to the bedroom wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist like he did most mornings.

Of course, what he had not expected was to find Bucky waiting for him in the bedroom. He was not expecting it so much that he dropped the goddamn towel.

“Shit, Buck, I am _so_ sorry…!” he started, scrabbling to pick it back up and inadvertently making the situation far worse than it had to be. His Mom had always used the phrase ‘more speed, less haste’ for situations and Steve had never been able to make sense of it before, but perhaps now he got it.

Finally, he managed to grab the towel and hastily wrap it around himself. His cheeks felt hot with the blush that he knew was spreading across them and likely right down his neck and onto his chest. Deciding that a towel probably wasn’t the best thing to stand there in, he grabbed his robe from behind the door, quickly putting that on then letting the towel drop to the floor beneath it.

It was only once he had finished the motion that he managed to turn and finally face Bucky.

Understandably, Bucky had a strange look on his face and a slight blush to his cheeks. Steve couldn’t blame him, he’d just been faced with a very direct view of Steve’s naked cock and balls… which Steve had just been fondling to thoughts of him. Steve was very glad there was no way he could know that.

“Uh, well,” Steve said, clearing his throat and feeling supremely awkward. “I guess nothing much more embarrassing than that is going to happen this weekend.”

Bucky looked up then, meeting Steve’s eyes. His own were… strangely dark. Before Steve had a chance to really focus on that, Bucky shook his head. “Sorry, I guess… I waited in here because I figured it’d be easier, you know?” 

“I… yeah. Hang on,” Steve said, moving to the drawer where he kept his underwear, pulling out the top pair and putting them on underneath the robe, being very careful not to do any more accidental flashing. Then he got rid of the robe and slid on a pair of comfy jeans and a plain white T-shirt. 

When he turned back, Bucky was looking at him again, but with a much more neutral expression on his face than he’d had the first time. Steve took it that it was okay to sit beside Bucky on his – their? – bed. 

Instead of hesitating like Steve had thought he might, Bucky moved immediately and pressed himself tight against Steve, making short work of beginning the scenting. He started by picking up Steve’s hand and turning it to expose the scent gland at his wrist and rubbing it with his own.

The feeling shouldn’t have been so sensual as it was, given the wrist scent glands were the ones that spent the most time exposed to the world and got touched on a regular basis. But there was soft, warm skin against Steve’s own and he knew instinctively that from his alone he would smell like Bucky’s, and Bucky would smell like _his_.

No matter what Steve tried to do, he couldn’t turn the part of his brain off that was screaming that, almost playing the information over and over in a loop in his brain. 

Bucky moved carefully and tentatively, getting closer to Steve and turning until he was facing him. Steve found himself mirroring the movement and knowing what he wanted; what the easiest way to do this would be.

He watched Bucky move his wrist to rub it against his neck but before he could get there, Steve reacted. Something in him snapped and he found himself moving, pulling Bucky in close until the Omega was in his lap. Carefully, aware of his friend’s pregnancy, he wrapped his arms around him and drew him close.

Bucky, for his part let out a contented purring noise before melting against Steve’s chest, wrapping his arms almost gratefully around Steve’s neck and tucking his nose into it and nuzzling deep. “Oh,” he whispered ever so softly, just enough that Steve heard it at all, his hot breath brushing against the bottom of Steve’s ear.

Steve tried not to react to that, but he couldn’t help a soft satisfied sigh of his own and he certainly couldn’t stop himself from tucking his own nose in, just above Bucky’s ear and allowing the other man’s hair to tickle his nose. He half expected Bucky to react negatively, but instead he let out a long, low noise that Steve knew instinctively to be happy.

He leaned into Steve more, relaxing almost to a point of being boneless, still nuzzling. Steve tried to look up at the ceiling and not think about how intimate and wonderful this was and certainly not about the warm feeling that was pooling in his stomach and spreading out through his whole being. Instead, bending his head as far as he could get without breaking his own contact, high enough to be looking directly at the delicate shell of Bucky’s ear. 

The additional body contact they now had didn’t help, especially with Bucky’s changing form. His legs were now framing Steve’s body, one either side of his thighs and with the way that he was leaning forward their whole bodies were pressed together, meaning that the gentle but very much there swell of his stomach was now pressed against Steve’s own. 

It… did more for Steve than it had any right to.

 _Especially_ when Steve had just come. 

He swallowed thickly, the scent of sweet, contented Omega very much surrounding him. Steve knew that in return, he was pumping out proud, protective, content Alpha pheromones and there was nothing he could do to stop it. But then again, that was the point wasn't it?

All he could really do was to hold Bucky close to him, letting him do as he pleased and returning in kind. 

The problem with all of this was that soon enough, Steve could feel himself getting aroused. He certainly was no longer entirely flaccid and from what he could read of Bucky’s scent at these incredibly close quarters, he was willing to bet that he wasn’t either. 

Steve didn’t want to press further, but he also didn’t want to move away. This felt far too good and far too comforting. It was… strangely familiar somehow.

Steve never wanted to move from this position again, except for maybe to get closer to Bucky - _inside_ of him. 

Forcibly pushing that thought away and allowing himself to relax, Steve gently ran his hands up and down Bucky’s back, well aware that his proximity alone and the fact that his hands, wrists and other scent glands were this close to Bucky would help. However, May wasn’t a Beta even if Sophie was, and this wouldn’t be enough.

Gently and carefully he lowered them until they were laid on the bed and pulled Bucky on top of him. He immediately wished that he hadn’t from the way that his body reacted to the movement and new position.

He found himself staring right up at Bucky’s face, making eye contact. From here he could really feel Bucky’s weight against him and he really had to force his brain not to start imagining that the position was more compromising than it was. Shifting until he was laid across Steve more slightly on his side, Bucky seemed to know what Steve was thinking, his cheeks pink.

Shit, Steve thought, he’d really fucked up here. 

Bucky _must_ know exactly how he felt and…

Then there was a knock at the door.

Bucky’s sisters had arrived.

*****

It was an easy afternoon in the apartment, probably helped by the fact that whilst he was Bucky’s fake-Alpha, Steve knew the Barneses well and they knew him. There was none of the new-partner-awkwardness that might have been expected.

The girls had been noisy, had fought over who’d have the bedroom and who would be relegated to the couch with May eventually winning the argument and getting use of the ‘spare’ room. Then they'd all piled onto said couch, chatting through lunch and then settling into a movie marathon.

Bucky had actually cooked for dinner, going for a tried and tested pasta dish, relatively healthy, and it was good and filling which was perfect, all things considered.

“So, seeing as we’ve been shipped out to our big-brother-and-Mate’s apartment, do we get to… I don’t know, drink a beer or something?” Sophie asked hopefully, eyeing between Bucky and Steve. 

Bucky gave her a Barnes death glare. “I don’t think so, Mom would kill me for one. Besides, what makes you think we even have beer in right now?” 

“You’re pregnant, not a saint. And besides, Steve might still enjoy it,” Sophie levelled, glancing at Steve for back up. Steve kept his expression very carefully neutral as he watched the exchange though he admired her tenacity.

“Steve can still enjoy it because Steve is an adult, is old enough to drink, and won’t get the wrath of Winnifred Barnes because he’s not her child and not underage,” Bucky replied in a voice that suggested there was very little room for negotiation. 

Leaning back in the couch in a movement that was distinctly teenage Bucky Barnes, Sophie crossed her arms across her chest. “You really _are_ a parent now, aren’t you?” She asked, her voice coming out in an accusatory tone.

Bucky looked a little surprised at that before smiling, catching Steve’s eye. “Yeah, I guess I am,” he said, a hand coming to rest on his bump.

Steve couldn’t help the reaction he had. He smiled right back, and put a hand over Bucky’s own. “Yeah, you are,” he agreed.

That said, what _did_ surprise Steve was what happened next. 

Bucky angled his face, and leant in in a way that Steve could easily recognize. Desperately trying not to overthink it as he moved, Steve leaned down and kissed Bucky’s lips, which were warm and soft and moving against him in the most hypnotic of ways.

Steve moved a hand, gently resting on Bucky’s jaw, guiding him to stay put, not wanting to stop this anytime soon. It was so overwhelming to all of Steve’s senses and sensibilities that he momentarily forgot that they weren’t alone.

“Oh ew, gross, Soph – look what you did!” May complained, and when Steve drew back knowing that Bucky’s light blue eyes were still very much on him, he could see the disgusted expression on her face.

“I dunno, it’s _kind of_ cute,” Sophie said, looking between them. “I hope someone looks at me like they look at each other one day.”

Steve coughed a little, feeling slightly awkward as he sat back, Bucky doing something similar which Steve was even more aware of because he couldn’t stop himself from sneaking furtive glances across at him.

*****

“So, uh,” Bucky started, looking at the bed between himself and Steve like it was a pit of snakes rather than a mattress with a whole pile of comfortable blankets and a comforter. “How do you want to do this?”

Steve, standing in his pajama bottoms and an old T-shirt with his hands on his hips wondered what the best answer could be. “Uh, what’s going to make you most comfortable?”

Bucky shuffled awkwardly. “We could make a barrier or something but that’ll take up a lot of space and we’re both pretty… uh, broad. Um, maybe it’s best we just… get in and see?”

Steve nodded, pulling the covers back on his usual side and sliding in. Bucky was watching him carefully, before finding whatever answer he was looking for and nodding to himself. He pulled back his own side and slid in.

Immediately, Steve was all too aware of the warm body so close to his own and the way that the mattress dipped beneath the weight of it. He could feel Bucky moving, manoeuvring until he was laid on his side facing Steve who had automatically done the same.

“Well, this feels cosy, huh?” Bucky asked, giving him a small half shy, half embarrassed smile. 

Steve couldn’t help but smile back. “I mean, if we weren’t both lying here this stiffly it might be,” he replied, noting that like himself Bucky was opting for holding a statue-still position.

Bucky snorted a laugh then, the awkward tension bleeding out of the moment slightly. “Hey pal, it’s not every day I sleep in the same bed with my fake-Alpha-stroke-best-friend. I wanna be careful, you now? I’ve overstepped enough boundaries, let’s not add too many more.”

“No boundaries being overstepped here, Buck. If it did for me, I’d tell you,” Steve assured him and that seemed to do something to Bucky, relaxing the Omega completely and allowing him to lean slightly more into Steve’s space, his own scent mingling immediately with that of Steve’s which was buried deep in the fibres of the fabrics surrounding them. 

“You’re way too good to me, Stevie,” he said, and Steve laughed, wrapping an arm around him. 

“C’mere,” he mumbled, tucking them together. Bucky seemed oddly relieved by it, curling immediately into Steve as their bodies pressed together.

They lay there for some time, the only movement between them being when Steve leaned to his bedside table to click the lamp that had been lighting the room off, allowing the room to sink into darkness. Just as Steve was starting to doze, nose now firmly buried in Bucky’s hair, smelling the remains of his fruity shampoo and that distinct Bucky smell, he heard the man speak. 

“You’ve no idea what boundaries I’m overstepping without you even knowing,” he murmured, voice sounding thick and like he was right on the verge of sleep himself.

Steve didn’t have the time to ask what that meant or think too much more on it before he was falling into the sweet oblivion of sleep himself.

*****

The next morning as Steve started to blink his way back into consciousness, he realized with a shock that this morning things were not as they usually were. For one thing, Steve’s sheets were usually cool against his skin and this morning there wasn’t the gentle slide of cotton but instead the warm press of a body. For quite another, the bed had more of a homely, comforting scent than he could remember it ever having. Finally, Steve knew without a doubt that he was completely dick throbbingly hard. 

As he realized what was going on, Steve swore softly, then swore again when the way he’d tried to slide his hips back to disengage his hardness from Bucky’s hip and make it less obvious seemed to have done the opposite. Bucky was waking up.

But instead of opening his eyes Bucky mumbled something and pressed in closer, gently burying his face into Steve’s neck and Steve couldn’t help but gasp, his dick giving an interested pulse. 

“Buck,” Steve breathed out, halfway frustrated, halfway entirely too turned on. 

“Mmm, Stevie…” Bucky managed then, shifting and… oh. That smelled a bit like… was that _Omega arousal?_

It shouldn’t surprise Steve, he supposed. Bucky was human, and he was also pregnant and hormonal. Hadn’t Steve read somewhere that raised hormone levels in the second trimester could lead to increased sex drive? Steve felt his stomach clench with guilt for finding it in any way erotic when it wasn’t even something that Bucky was conscious of, but he couldn’t help the physiological reaction that his body seemed intent on giving to this whole situation.

“Buck,” he said again, a little louder. He didn’t want Bucky to feel any shame over this, but waking him up and alerting him to the situation they found themselves in seemed to be the lesser of the two evils of letting it continue, even if the latter was the sort of sin Steve was sure that he could enjoy.

Unfortunately, once again Steve’s attempts were not only unsuccessful but they achieved more or less the exact opposite of what Steve had been hoping.

Bucky shifted, snuffling and attached his mouth right over Steve’s scent gland, letting out a muffled sound that was suspiciously like a moan around it, the vibrations against his skin making Steve shudder.

“Buck, Buck, Buck-“ Steve chanted out, gently tapping him on the shoulder almost desperately because something else had happened now. Steve was almost completely certain he could smell slick. 

No, Steve could _definitely_ smell slick.

It was every bit like Steve had dreamed Bucky would smell. It was warm honey, sweet jasmine and he was practically salivating because it was so _close_ and Bucky was pressing closer still, that hot mouth still against Steve’s neck.

Steve could practically imagine how burying his face between those cheeks and tasting that delicious slick would taste and the thought alone made him groan out.

“Bucky, _please_ ,” he said gently, shaking his shoulder. “Buck, I think you’re uh…” 

Bucky’s eyes opened slowly and Steve only knew they had and that he was blinking because he could feel his lashes brush against the damp skin of his neck. “…Steve?” Came the dulled response, and then suddenly, Bucky was moving.

“Oh no, oh god Steve, oh _shit_ ,” he said, eyes wide with panic. 

“I… Buck, I am so sorry…” Steve was saying, talking directly over him, wanting him to know that he wasn’t trying to be gross with the boner he currently still very much had but it couldn’t be helped. 

“Sorry for what Steve? I’m the one in your bed all… wait,” he paused, and he slid a hand experimentally down Steve’s torso, watching Steve’s reaction with those wide blue eyes the whole way down, before his hand was brushing against the fabric of his pajama pants and the tent there. 

Steve made a small noise because that was just too close and he wanted, he _wanted_ … but he _shouldn’t_. 

“Steve?” Bucky asked quietly and Steve didn’t know if he was asking whether this reaction was for him or whether he was asking for permission.

“Yeah,” he breathed because regardless of which was the question that _was_ the answer.

Bucky nodded. He swallowed. He nodded again. 

“I…” he started before shaking his head. Instead of articulating a verbal response, Bucky rolled his own hips forward. His eyes never left Steve’s face, scanning carefully for how it would be taken. “I’m… god, Steve, these hormones are driving me mad.”

And Steve knew then, he knew. Bucky didn’t share the feelings he did, but Steve was a willing hard dick, and they were in bed together and Bucky clearly trusted Steve enough. Could Steve bring himself to do this, too? There was no question as to whether or not he wanted to, but was it a step too far?

Bucky must have panicked whilst Steve was musing. “I, Steve, no… oh shit, sorry, that’s too far, we’re just so close at the moment and I…”

“No, no, Buck, _no_ ,” he said emphatically, shaking his head and pulling Bucky closer again where he’d shuffled back, obviously taking Steve’s silence as rejection. “God, I…” He moved again. “If that’s what you want, yes.”

Bucky swallowed and nodded, and seemed to pause himself, but then he wasn’t paused anymore.

And his hands were All. Over. Steve.

Their lips crashed together, almost a bruising kiss and Steve moaned out into it. Perhaps he should be embarrassed about how vocal he was so soon in, but in his defence he really was _that_ hard and he had a gorgeous Omega in his arms – a gorgeous Omega he’d been lusting after since they were teenagers.

Bucky’s hands had moved down, gripping Steve’s ass now and pulling them together. 

When Steve had imagined this moment, he had always imagined that somehow under some perfect circumstance their coming together would be romantic, sweet and just hot enough to get their fires burning. 

This was not that.

This was desperate and it was ferocious, almost like something had been released from both of them and all bets were off. 

Bucky was grinding against him, and Steve could smell the waves of happiness, comfort and most strongly arousal coming off of him. Steve knew he must be returning that in kind and he couldn’t bring himself to care for the moment – as much as anything the very Alpha part of his brain was preening in the knowledge that this beautiful Omega apparently found him attractive enough for arousal and that he felt safe to act on it.

Sliding his hands around Bucky, Steve enjoyed the sweep of skin that his fingertips brushed and rested them on his ass. From what he could tell, Bucky enjoyed the implied possessiveness of the gesture, letting out a small sound and pressing back against Steve’s hands, almost like he was desperate for some contact there as well as the relief that grinding his dick must be giving him. 

Steve was all too aware that each time Bucky’s hips rotated he was letting out deep, guttural noises, at the same time he was all too aware that one of Bucky’s sisters was in the room right next door, though he wasn’t with it enough to do anything for that. Bucky, and his pleasure, were all that mattered.

“So good, Buck, this feels good,” he whispered against the other man’s lips, almost needing to vocalize how he was feeling.

“Oh, oh yeah,” Bucky agreed, words coming in punched out gasps before he let out a needy whine. “God, Steve, you don’t have to stay above the waistline if you don’t wanna.”

That stoked the desire within Steve and was all the encouragement that he needed to move his hands up, toying with the waistband of the pajama pants for just a few seconds and wondering if this would really fuck everything up. Then again, they’d gotten this far – if things were going to get fucked up here, it had already happened. He pushed his fingertips down, feeling hot skin and catching the scent of the slick more strongly, especially as he went below Bucky’s boxers.

He watched the other man, whose eyes were tightly shut, that gorgeous mouth open in a soft ‘o’ of pleasure. He looked beautiful like this – the artist in Steve wanted to draw it and probably would later, if only because he would never in his life forget a sight like this. Nor would he forget the soft sounds of pleasure spilling from Bucky’s lips – those were definitely going to live in his head rent free for all time.

Tentatively, Steve pushed his hands over the skin of Bucky’s ass, very aware of the fact they were still pushing into each other, dry humping like horny teenagers and then further to the centre and that very private part there. Oh shit, he _was_ wet. So wet. And that made Steve all the harder.

Steve let out a groan, pressing in more firmly. The movement made Bucky’s hips sputter as he gasped and his eyes popped open looking at Steve with an expression akin to wonder. 

“Yes,” he insisted softly and Steve nodded, pushing the finger in more, giving Bucky something to push back against as well as getting friction on his cock. “Oh, fuck, Stevie, yeah.”

“You want more, Buck?” he asked quietly, not sure how much more _he_ could take and honestly not sure how he was even processing now that this was actually happening. All he knew was that everything inside of him was screaming at him to _take_ and to _please_. He wanted more. He wanted everything. 

“Yeah, please,” he breathed, before tucking his nose down against Steve’s collarbone again and nipping gently around the area of his scent gland causing Steve to groan out and push his hips forward. The fact that the motion clearly did something for Bucky too made the entire thing feel like some sort of pleasure based feedback loop and Steve didn’t want it to end, even when he could feel the base of his penis tingling, his knot itching to pop.

“Oh, Buck,” he moaned quietly, taking control and moving against Bucky now, setting a solid, steady rhythm despite the fact that he just wanted to thrust harder, to _take_. 

“Steve, Steve….” Bucky was mumbling now, a hand up and under his shirt, resting on his hip, his waist before moving upwards more. “Oh, oh, I’m gonna… I’m not gonna last!”

“Come for me, Buck, wanna feel it,” he said quietly, nipping the shell of Bucky’s ear when he was done speaking into it.

“I’m gonna, oh god Steve, Steve….!” And then it was happening. 

Steve felt the moment where Bucky’s body tensed completely, his dick jumping in his pants against Steve’s own and his ass squeeze down around the finger that Steve had inched inside of him. The walls pulsated in waves and Steve wished so hard in that moment that he was inside properly – his cock rather than his fingers. But perhaps there would be a next time, perhaps Steve would be lucky enough…

Bucky’s face, meanwhile was the picture of coital bliss, eyes fluttered shut again and his wet lips pink and flushed as he gasped out Steve’s name and a litany of curse words. His forehead was damp, and his hair was falling onto it and whilst Steve had thought he was the most beautiful thing in the world whilst they’d been fooling around, he’d been wrong. _This_ was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

When he was sure that Bucky was done, Steve couldn’t help but fidget – he was still _so_ hard himself.

Gently sliding his finger free of Bucky, Steve couldn’t help but to take a taste, Bucky’s eyes open again now and watching him the entire time. 

“Steve,” he said quietly as Steve disentangled them just enough that he could reach down into his own pants. “No, no, Steve – I wanna… can I watch?”

Steve hadn’t expected that, and looked into Bucky’s eyes which were still blown out and interested. He nodded, inching his sleep pants down and wrapping a hand around the base of his cock where his knot was starting to swell, clearly turned on and in the presence of an Omega.

He worked himself over, too desperate and too turned on to really make a show of it, though it didn’t seem to matter. Bucky’s attention was rapt on his movements, watching as Steve’s hand moved in a pumping motion, stopping to pay attention to the head and to the knot, which had begun to ridge at the base, responding to the presence of an Omega.

Steve knew without looking that his dick would be hard, curved and slightly purpling to the tip. The dampness he felt there told him that pre come was already beading and he swiped a thumb across it, spreading it around as he toyed with himself. 

Looking over at Bucky, he hadn’t looked away yet and now he was paying even more rapt attention, chewing on his lip as he watched. Steve could feel himself tensing and his knot swelling more.

“You gonna…?” he asked, and Steve nodded because he was, he was so close, how could he not?

Right then, he felt another hand around his dick, and when he looked down he found Bucky’s long fingers right there with his own. He gasped out, the realization pushing him over the edge and he tensed, eyes squeezing shut as he came and came and _came_ , Bucky milking his knot with his hand. 

When he finally came down, Steve half heartedly used his own underwear to clean the mess he’d made even though it was clear he was changing his sheets before they got back in them that night.

“I…” Bucky started before there was a disconcerting crash from the living room. “We’re gonna have to see what that is.”

Steve nodded, a little dazed, but what else could they do?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The opening riff to _’I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You’_ by Elvis Presley started and Steve smiled. “You don’t have to thank me,” he said quietly before sighing a little. “I know this is old fashioned but I’ve always loved this song.”
> 
> “We could dance?” Bucky asked before freezing entirely, realizing what he had offered. Besides the fact that nobody else was dancing, there were pretty obviously some other issues. 
> 
> Steve, however, seemed completely oblivious, something lighting up in his eyes when he looked at Bucky – who had pulled his head up – once again. “You really wanna get your feet squashed, Buck?” he asked, and Bucky knew in that moment that he was considering it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Somehow we've made it to the halfway point! Thank you all for coming along on this crazy fast-posting ride with me!   
> \- This one is for Erica, Lexi and Catherine (y'all know who you are) who have sent me the most gorgeous pings/emails/messages and feedback about this - I'm so glad you're all enjoying it <3   
> \- I know there was a bit of a feeling after the last one of 'finally! something is happening!'... I mean, wouldn't it be a shame if something came along and ruined it? Uh... sorry. You can all scream at me once you've read it <3   
> \- Thank you ALL for the support <3

B U C K Y

The crash, it turned out, was the sound of May dropping one of Steve’s dorky plastic cereal containers. He still had some in the cupboards, taking up valuable snack space, Bucky knew, even if Steve was just as likely to have a smoothie or a protein bar or shake or whatever else as his breakfast as he was to actually sit down and eat something properly.

Bloody gym-going exercise-doing himbo. 

Still, Bucky knew what his thighs looked like naked now and the results were very favourable... very favourable indeed…

Bucky shook his head. He could _not_ be thinking like this. There was no way he could get lost in those thoughts without popping at least semi and trying to deal with his family hard and aching? Dealing with _Steve_ still hard after their morning? Yeah it wouldn't go well if he couldn’t get his mind out of the gutter. 

Once the mess had been cleaned up and breakfast had been dealt with, Bucky found himself incredibly jittery. The thing was, at some stage in all of this, he was going to have to face Steve alone again. And they had now seen each other come – had _made_ each other come. 

Would that change anything?

How stupid had he been to think that Steve would find him desirable anyway? He was pregnant with another man’s child for all that Steve was apparently willing to pretend that it was his. He was _visibly_ pregnant, at that – he didn’t even have a hope in hell of fitting into his pre-pregnancy pants at this stage, what on Earth was he doing?

Who the fuck slept with their best friend? And who the fuck did it when they were pregnant by someone else? 

The one saving grace, he supposed grudgingly, was that they hadn’t actually had sex. But then again, did that mean that he was about to lose a friendship over not-sex? 

Okay, that was _worse_. 

When he got his turn in the bathroom, he shaved carefully and showered as slowly as he could get away with, bearing in mind that they had somewhere to be and there were two additional people needing the room in comparison to normal. He had washed his hair and put conditioner in it, turning to face the spray and washing himself, making sure to clean up any residual slick that might be left. Deciding it was a sensible idea, he washed himself using the scent blocking shower gel Steve preferred for the task – he could do without Steve being able to read his shame and nervousness without even having to look at him.

He got out of the shower and towelled himself off, before throwing on a robe so he could walk across to the bedroom – he would _not_ be repeating Steve’s mistakes of the day before, thank you very much.

Realistically, he knew he couldn’t act as weirdly as he wanted to right about now – his family would know something was off – but it was difficult to do anything but. 

He went across to the bedroom, finding it thankfully empty, and quickly got himself dressed in the most ‘tidy’, but not business or work related, maternity clothes he owned. He was, after all, well beyond the point where he could even hope that his normal pants would fit now so it was a necessity to be embraced at this point.

Thankfully, his pants were made of a light colour linen and wouldn’t be too hot given they’d be in his parents’ yard for the day and they also blessedly cut under the bump rather than having one of those ridiculous elastic panels he’d have to pull up over. He was going to be warm anyway, he didn’t need to make it any worse. Opting for a light blue button up on the top, he stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself. Not the usual standard that Bucky liked to keep himself to, but it would do.

Knowing he couldn’t hide in the bedroom forever Bucky sighed and let himself out, going through to the living room and sitting himself down.

“Looking good, Buck,” May told him with a smile. She was already sitting on the couch dressed in a teal colour wrap-around dress with her hair pinned in such a way to keep it off of her face.

“And you,” he said with a smile, though she shook her head.

“Nah, I don’t have that pregnant Omega glow you do. Hopefully I won’t for some time,” she added with a laugh, seeing the expression that Bucky had began to pull. “But whilst we’re on that subject, you and Steve are so cute together. Mom is completely over the moon. I thought she’d be annoyed you got pregnant, but apparently not.”

Bucky blushed a little, mumbling something about how they were just like any other couple and blushed more at the lie, recognizing the irony in his own words as he spoke.

“No, you are. The way that you look at each other, it’s… yeah. It’s the real deal. And even down to this place, Buck, your whole apartment smells like a nest. If it wasn’t so similar to how home smells, it’d be kind of embarrassing,” she told him, poking him in the arm. “I know the baby is fast and all, but I guess what I’m trying to say is… eh. You’ll be great. You both will.”

Bucky blushed even harder then. “Don’t you have another sibling you could be talking like this to? Where’s Becca when I actually need her?” he groused.

May just laughed, the sound like a higher pitched version of Bucky’s own. When people said that the Barnes genes ran strong, they weren’t wrong. The siblings were far too alike for any form of denial. 

“Well, we’ll be at Mom and Dad’s soon enough and she’ll be there. Don’t worry, she’ll get her turn. Besides, by then you’ll have The Aunts to deal with,” she said, referring to their parents’ siblings who Bucky already knew would flock to him upon seeing the bump. He had wanted to ask Steve to use his Alpha energy to try and keep them off, but he wasn’t sure that was even appropriate now. 

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Bucky grumbled, May laughing at him once again.

*****

Bucky wasn’t sure whether to thank his lucky stars that regardless of whatever had passed between them that morning Steve was still every bit the proud Alpha father, or to curse them entirely because it blurred boundaries Bucky hadn’t even realized he was fighting quite so hard to keep up. 

They’d arrived with May and Sophie in tow and the girls had immediately disappeared. In fairness, Bucky couldn’t blame them. If he was still capable of moving quickly and discreetly enough to disappear, he might have done it too.

“James, Steve, it’s good to see you both – and James, you’re glowing! Look at you!” His Mom said as they walked into the kitchen. The room was filled with a large variety of side salads, side dishes and whatever else ready to be ferried out to the garden.

“I… yeah,” he admitted, putting a hand on his own stomach and feeling the still-strange firmness that was there now. The firmness he had to keep reminding himself held his baby. “I mean, I'm nearly halfway, Mom. My twenty-week scan is next week.”

“Oh, are you going to find out if it’s a boy or a girl? I never found out with you, Becca decided to show us she wasn’t a boy – the girls we knew though. I needed to know whether we needed your old things or Becca’s from the attic,” she said, smiling fondly at the memories. 

Bucky found that even though he wanted to be grumpy about it just out of principle, he couldn’t. Her soft, content expression as she reminisced touched a little something inside of him making him smile back at her.

“I…. yeah, I think maybe we will, we hadn’t really spoken about it yet,” he said, finding he glanced to Steve for back up naturally, even if he knew Steve would just say it was his decision.

Steve smiled and nodded. “If you want to Buck, we do that. I don’t mind either way so long as he or she is healthy.”

Bucky’s mother smiled right back at them both. “That is the main thing. Anyway I had best stop monopolizing your time – I do get to see you plenty, after all – why don’t you go ahead and go out to the yard? Oh, and James - just in case you’d forgotten, your Great Aunt Fiona is out there – I’d avoid her if I were you, she’ll just insist on telling you childbirth stories that will… well. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t need them.” She shook her head and looked exasperated and Bucky couldn’t help but smile.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Barnes, I’ll stick to his side and make sure he’s kept away from any terrifying stories,” Steve said with his usual confident smile and Bucky found himself slightly shamefully enjoying the reassuring warmth of the hand that Steve placed in the middle of his lower back. “Unless you need any help here, of course?”

“I’m sure you will, and no – really, I’ve got everything under control here, don’t worry yourself,” she replied, giving them both a smile and waving her hand in a shooing motion. “Now go.”

Steve nodded, pressing another soft kiss to the side of Bucky’s head and steering him gently out of the door and into the yard.

In the middle of George Barnes’ usually pristine lawn sat a large white marquee with the side panels taken out. Inside, Bucky could see that tables and white plastic lawn chairs filled the space as they did every time the Barnes family could find an excuse to use this set up. There were several BBQ grills around, and even more coolers full of various drinks.

“Make sure you let me know if you start getting too warm,” Steve said absently, gently rubbing the place where his hand was still connected to Bucky’s back. “How about we go and find you a drink before we start the rounds?”

Bucky nodded, knowing that was a good idea. Sure, with a growing baby pressing on his bladder he continually needed to pee, but he’d read plenty about the perils of letting yourself get dehydrated, and it wasn’t like his parents’ house didn’t have enough bathrooms. “Yeah, that’d be good – maybe just a lemonade?” He asked, walking across the lawn to go and inspect what was available, Steve very much in tow.

Steve was the one who reached them first, but then again he had very long legs and nothing attached to his front to slow him down in the way that Bucky did himself. The thought that he would definitely continue to expand was a pretty terrifying one if he was completely honest. 

“It’s alright, I got this,” he said with a soft smile, getting Bucky a red solo cup and filling it up, making sure he added ice to keep the thing cool as well. “Don’t want you overheating,” he added with a shy smile. 

Part of Bucky wanted to swoon at that – a gorgeous, broad very Alpha Alpha like Steve fawning over him and ensuring that his needs were met was pretty much every Omega’s dream. He wanted to sink into the neat little fantasy that he might have developed over the last few months about his baby _actually_ being Steve’s biologically, too, and what a protective, giving Alpha he would be, but he certainly couldn’t do that now. In fact, he felt guilty even thinking about it after that morning.

“I… thanks, Steve,” Bucky replied with a smile, taking the glass and watching as Steve pulled out a coke for himself. “You’re not having a beer?” he asked, knowing that Steve enjoyed the taste of them as much as anything.

Steve looked at him and looked just a little embarrassed. “I felt kind of bad about it given you can’t exactly have a drink right now. And besides, I wanted to keep myself sharp in case you need me.”

Something in Bucky’s stomach flip-flopped pleasurably at that, that little fantasy life with Steve seeming so keen to push itself into his conscious thoughts. He pushed back trying not to get frustrated with himself. He didn’t want to be the stereotype of moody pregnant person. 

“That’s… real nice of you, Stevie, but I know you. You’re hardly going to get yourself drunk hanging around with my family,” he pointed out, pulling a beer out instead and getting it open before handing it over. “You’re doing this for me, you might as well enjoy it.”

“I’ll enjoy it anyway, Buck. What more could I want than to hang out with my best friend, his family who I know and love like my own and that’s before the beer and BBQ food,” he asked, and Bucky was actually quite sure that he wasn’t joking.

“Right,” he said, shaking his head. “Come on, let’s go and get some of this over with.”

*****

It turned out that dealing with his family members was every bit as bad as Bucky had thought it might be. By the time he got to his Aunt Mandy, his father’s younger sister, Bucky really _was_ starting to get a little bit tetchy and his feet and ankles were starting to swell.

“Oh James, look at you! You’re looking fantastic! And this must be your Alpha that I’ve been hearing so much about – are you Steve?” She asked, turning and giving him an absolutely beaming smile which of _course_ Steve returned being the absolute golden boy that he was.

“I… thanks. And yeah, this is Steve, I’m sure you’ve actually met him before,” he added, because Steve had definitely been to family functions, although it might have been some years before.

“We have, but it’s lovely to see you again,” Steve smoothed, glancing down that couple of inches he had on Bucky and wrapping a proprietary arm around his waist as if sensing his tension. He’d been doing little things like this the whole time, and Bucky had allowed himself to wander ever closer to that little happy fantasy land that lived rent-free in his head. 

But he couldn’t.

He and Steve might have gotten each other off, but that was probably normal. How many healthy guys their age went this long without dating anyone? They were both probably just sexually frustrated and it was how it had come out. They’d been best friends before, and they’d certainly seen each other naked before (alright, probably more in school gym locker rooms than in intimate bedroom settings but it still _counted_ , or at least that was what Bucky was telling himself) this was just a slight extension of that. 

Wasn’t it?

Yes, yes it was.

He tucked the thoughts away again and tried not to panic or get too grumpy about the fact that Steve was not his to do that with. He’d seen the way some of his cousins and distant cousins had looked at the Alpha already and that had been bad enough, souring something inside of him and making him feel that uncomfortable tug of jealousy he had no right to harbor.

“It’s lovely to see you again too – and how lovely to see a happy young couple! Has anyone told you how good you look together yet? That baby is going to be so gorgeous, James! Well, of course, babies are always gorgeous, but with your shared genes this one will have a head start!” She gushed, before she was leaning forward in a motion that Bucky had already seen one too many times today. Why people thought that just because they were family they were automatically allowed to touch was absolutely beyond Bucky and he dreaded the day where strangers found it appropriate too, because apparently that was a _thing_.

He tensed slightly as she ran a hand across his bump and Steve caught it immediately, stepping back a little with him. “I’m sorry, ma’am, Buck’s had a lot of that to deal with today. It might be time for a break for him.”

Aunt Mandy looked surprised, before apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry, James, I forget myself – I remember all that when I was expecting your cousins. You absolutely deserve your space!”

Bucky smiled and nodded, muttering his thanks, but he didn’t take his eyes off Steve. Right in that moment Steve smelled of rich mahogany under his natural citrus scent, all protective and Alpha and caretaking. He’d pulled Bucky just a little closer to his side once they’d settled a step back from his Aunt, the move and new position both proprietary and territorial. 

It did _things_ to Bucky, that he knew, but Steve didn’t stop there, didn’t move away when the perceived threat was gone. Bucky found himself naturally releasing the calming pregnant-Omega pheromones he now had; needing to keep the Alpha next to him as calm as he could for reasons he didn’t really understand. It was almost a physical reaction as much as anything else, one based in biological imperative rather than choice.

The effect on Steve was fairly quickly obvious, his shoulders dropping just a little from their tense defensive position to something a little more natural and relaxed and he caught Bucky’s eye mouthing a soft ‘sorry’ in his direction. Bucky smiled a little, gently patting his fingers on the small of Steve’s back to let him know without words that it was okay – and he knew that Steve _did_ know from that – his smile told him.

“It’s okay, it’s just… there’s a whole lot of people here and everyone loves a baby bump apparently,” Bucky said with a smile, noting that his Aunt was watching the exchange between them and smiling to herself. 

“Well, you don’t get a family as big as ours without loving babies,” she pointed out with a smile. “Still, it seems like you have James’ best interests at heart, Steve.”

“I have _both_ of their best interests at heart,” Steve confirmed, and his voice was so warm with innate affection that Bucky felt his insides go warm and syrupy like treacle pudding or something. Fuck, he really _did_ wish that this was for real. “And I think for that reason we should go and get you something to eat and find somewhere quiet to sit for a while, huh?” he suggested.

Bucky nodded, not trusting his mouth not to blurt out something absolutely and completely stupid like ‘I love you!’, not after that little show. 

“Well, it’s good to see you both regardless. I’ll look forward to seeing you again soon, Steve,” Aunt Mandy was saying but Bucky wasn’t listening now, not really. Instead he was basking in Steve’s easy affection and warmth and letting ~~his~~ the Alpha take care of him, just for a little while.

*****

Afternoon rolled into evening and the party showed some signs of winding down with the guests who had young children slowly departing one by one, leaving just the adults behind. As the sky darkened, Bucky’s father got them all seated around the fire pit he’d clearly brought out specially and got the thing alight. 

One of Bucky’s cousin’s played in a band and had brought a guitar along, and so now there was soft music playing with people occasionally singing along, otherwise falling into easy chatter and banter. 

Steve was right next to Bucky, his arm wrapped around Bucky’s shoulders holding him close, with Bucky’s hand placed on his thigh. He had no doubt that when one of his sisters inevitably posted the pictures of this on social media the next morning, they would absolutely and completely look like a couple in love. And that was a good thing – Bucky reminded himself – because they had to keep this up, but a bad thing because if Steve looked closely at how Bucky looked, Bucky was sure his face would completely betray his feelings.

He was, perhaps, just a little in love with Steven Grant Rogers. And he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

Gently turning his nose towards Steve’s neck and collar he breathed in the fresh smell of relaxed Alpha, enjoying his warmth and the relaxed atmosphere. It had been a busy day, but a good one, and far less awkward than Bucky had panicked it might be given the start to the day.

“You okay there, Buck?” Steve rumbled softly, tilting his head slightly to the side in an almost-nuzzle which felt like he had – for whatever reason – abandoned the motion at the last minute.

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for today,” he said quietly, listening as his cousin played through the end of _Everlong_. 

“Hey, Mike – could you play something us oldies might remember?” Bucky’s father asked him and everyone laughed, Mike plucking a few chords before settling on something.

The opening riff to _’I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You’_ by Elvis Presley started and Steve smiled. “You don’t have to thank me,” he said quietly before sighing a little. “I know this is old fashioned but I’ve always loved this song.”

“We could dance?” Bucky asked before freezing entirely, realizing what he had offered. Besides the fact that nobody else was dancing, there were pretty obviously some other issues. 

Steve, however, seemed completely oblivious, something lighting up in his eyes when he looked at Bucky – who had pulled his head up – once again. “You really wanna get your feet squashed, Buck?” he asked, and Bucky knew in that moment that he was considering it.

“Eh, you’ve done worse before and they’re kinda swollen anyway,” he teased back, unable to look away from Steve in that moment. 

“Well, if you’re really sure…” he said, pushing himself up and offering Bucky a hand up too. There was a chorus of woops and ‘aww’s from the gathered family members, and Mike seemed determined to give them even more time by playing that beginning loop over again whilst they moved away from their seats and slightly away from the group and the fire.

Standing there facing Steve, Bucky suddenly felt a little unsure, but he didn’t need to. Steve’s large hands reached for him, taking one of Bucky’s hands in his own and lacing their fingers in a motion that felt so goddamn _intimate_ despite the fact that they frequently held hands these days, and the other wrapped around his waist. 

“Alright there?” he asked softly, his face so very close to Bucky’s now, close enough that he could see the dusting of blond stubble dusting Steve’s chiselled jawline.

“I’m good,” he confirmed, letting Steve lead and start moving them to the music.

Their actual dancing lacked any real finesse and was probably more accurately described as swaying in time to the music but Bucky wasn’t paying much attention. He was being warmed by Steve’s body heat, that Alpha warmth seeping through his clothes and onto his skin and that wonderful Steve-scent swirling around him. He couldn’t think straight, and it didn’t matter.

When he managed to bring himself to look at Steve’s face he couldn’t help but smile. The Alpha’s blue eyes were focused on him, looking down at him so tenderly and caringly that Bucky almost bought into their lie himself in that moment. He had moonlight picking up the lightness of his hair, and the warm flickering light from the fire highlighting his features, and that Roman bump in his nose. 

Bucky couldn’t look away.

His own heart was beating so fast in that moment that he was surprised that Steve hadn’t commented on it. He told himself it was errant pregnancy hormones that were making him feel this way. That and the fact that Steve was so very… _Steve_ about all of this. About _everything_.

“I guess I’m not squashing your feet after all, huh Buck?” he asked quietly, and all Bucky could do was make a half-choked noise when he tried to speak and nod instead, giving Steve a smile. 

“You’re not half bad these days, Stevie,” He managed after a beat or two, not trusting himself to say anything else.

“Maybe all I was waiting for was the right partner. Like my horrible dancing was the universe’s way of telling me none of the others were for me,” he said, and it sounded like he was just getting contemplative after a few beers, but he was still looking right into Bucky’s eyes, not above his head or anywhere else. 

“I… maybe?” Bucky managed, wondering if Steve understood the implications of what he was saying… or rather, the implications on _Bucky_. 

He could feel his bump pressing into Steve, and that should be deterrent enough – both for Bucky _and_ a reminder that Bucky was used goods, he came with baggage, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything of the sort.

It was like they were existing within their own private bubble, despite the fact that Bucky’s family were all around and in fact some of them were closer now, dancing themselves. If anything, they were stuck in Steve and Bucky’s spell or in their orbit. Either way, Bucky couldn’t pay them any mind, not when Steve was looking at him like that.

Steve, apparently, could not look away either. He didn’t even try. Instead, those bright blue eyes were fixed on Bucky’s, almost like he could see deep enough to see all of these very private and romantic thoughts that Bucky was having in those moments that they were wrapped together. 

_Fuck_ , Bucky thought to himself. The lyrics “I can’t help falling in love with you” had never been more apt than they were in that moment, the smell of soft summer air around them and Steve crowding into Bucky, holding him close to dance.

And then Bucky realized something else. Something important.

Steve was leaning down slowly, giving Bucky every chance to move away or turn his head but Bucky didn’t want to. He let Steve slowly lower his head until their lips were brushing, and then pressed together. 

Bucky’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was trying desperately to break free from the confines of his chest. The touch of lips on lips felt electric, addicting, and Bucky drank in the sensations, Steve subtly drawing him even closer until they were pressed so very close that Bucky _knew_ that they’d smell of one another even if they didn’t spend time deliberately scenting these days.

Steve’s lips were moving then, his head tilting, seeking a better angle and all Bucky could do in response was to make an embarrassing noise directly against his mouth. And oh _fuck_ Steve was clearly into giving a good show because now he was using his tongue. Bucky could feel it against his own, probing into his mouth with all the soft confidence that he naturally possessed.

The thing was, Bucky couldn’t have Steve thinking that he was the weak party in this, so he kissed back, giving some of his best moves until he felt Steve gasp. He couldn’t help but smirk when Steve eventually pulled back, especially when Steve clearly felt enough of whatever he was feeling to lean his forehead against Bucky’s own.

He felt a stab of regret when he realized that actually, he was being overly optimistic; Steve wasn’t feeling anything. Just like the rest of their relationship, this was all an act.

“Buck,” he breathed quietly, almost reverently, and Bucky started to admire how dedicated Steve was to the act, even if it stabbed a place in his heart it had no rights to be stabbing in. 

When Bucky’s heart caught up with his brain and realized this was really all just an elaborate act, it was going to hurt. He needed to start to deal with that ahead of time, he knew that now. Especially when everyone would still think the baby was Steve’s, meaning he couldn’t go for complete avoidance – not that he _would_ if by some miracle Steve wanted to see the child regardless of it’s true parentage.

“Hey, lovebirds! The song is over! You can stop doing doe-eyes at each other and sit down any time!” Becca catcalled over at them, and Bucky couldn’t help but blush, Steve allowing him to lean forward and tuck his face into his broad chest. Of course it was a huge mistake when the whole area still had that wonderful scent, but it was too late now. Bucky might as well enjoy the spoils of his heartache.

“I guess we oughta…” Steve said softly, and Bucky was sure that in the moment he closed his eyes he felt Steve’s lips against the top of his head. 

“I guess,” Bucky echoed, knowing his reply was non-committal. 

“It really is lovely to see you so happy, James,” May said quietly as he sat down, and Bucky could only wish in that moment that his happiness were real.

*****

Bucky’s biggest problem upon actually leaving should have been figuring out how exactly that he and Steve could share a room – a _bed_ \- for a second night running after that kiss and what had happened that morning with no awkwardness.

However, when they’d been getting ready to leave his parents’ place another issue came to light: May was tipsy, but Sophie was well on her way to hammered. 

Bucky considered exactly what he was going to do about that situation, because really there were two options. The first was that he admonished her in front of everyone and alerted his parents to it. Likely, Sophie would be left here and would be subject to Winnie Barnes’ ire as a result. Instead, he took the path of being a good big brother, instead corralling her into Steve’s car and getting himself into the driver’s seat and getting them back.

He found himself acting as a complete mother hen, glancing in the rear view mirror almost constantly, and checking that she was alright. May was sat staring out of the window, Sophie was asleep, head lulled against it, knocking but somehow not waking her up every time they hit a bump or Bucky rounded a corner. 

Bucky would have felt worse, but she really had brought this on herself.

She stayed that way until they were back to Steve and Bucky’s place (and when _exactly_ had he started thinking of it as his own as well as Steve’s?) and until May elbowed her to wake her up.

Ever the gentleman, Steve had helped her out and up the stairs and Bucky had fussed when they got in, making sure she cleaned her teeth, listening outside of the bathroom to make sure she didn’t pass out in there or anything and forcing half a glass of water down her before leaving some painkillers for the next morning next to where she was sleeping. 

By the time he made it back to ‘their’ bedroom, he wasn’t even concerned about whatever had passed between him and Steve and how he was going to keep his thoughts and actions platonic.

“All sorted?” Steve asked, sitting in his pajamas on the edge of the bed and glancing across at Bucky when he came in.

Bucky nodded in response. “Just about. I’ve got her safely changed and into bed, at least.”

Pulling his own pajamas across to him, he began to change, not thinking much of Steve being there until he did and glancing up shyly. Steve’s eyes were… focused on Bucky’s midriff – probably berating himself for getting as close to Bucky and that obvious bump as he had – before coming back up, a pretty pink blush on his cheeks.

“Sorry,” Bucky said quietly, feeling blood rising to his own cheeks now and hastily pulling the shirt he was sleeping with down, ensuring he was covered.

“I… no, Buck, _I’m_ sorry,” he started, running a hand through his blond hair and mussing it adorably. 

The words stung Bucky, something akin to cold water. Of course, he’d been expecting them. Why would he expect anything but that? Steve was a good man, of course he was – what other kind of man would take on a pregnant Omega who was going to pop out a kid that wasn’t his? Who’d agree to take the kid on and give the Omega in question full choice in all decisions? 

Only Steve.

But what Steve _couldn’t_ give Bucky was what he now realized he wanted so badly, no matter how selfish his desire was.

And that was gutting. 

“No, no, really Steve – you don’t gotta explain it…” he said, waving a hand in a dismissing motion, half turning so that Steve couldn’t see his face – he was worried that it would be a dead giveaway for exactly how he felt about all this.

“No, no, Buck I’m sorry for-“ he started again but Bucky didn’t want to hear it.

He shook his head. “No, Steve, stop. You really don’t have to explain.”

“But Buck…” he tried once more and Bucky held up a hand. 

“I get it, Steve. Let’s just…” and then his speech and his thought process interrupted abruptly by the sound of loud retching from the direction of the bathroom. 

“Buck?” he heard then, the voice very clearly female, a bit concerned and coming from May.

“Aw, shit,” he muttered and Steve stood up too. “No, no, it’s okay. I can handle this, she’s my sister.” He said, not because he didn’t want the help but because he wasn’t going to look the gift horse that was an excuse to not be around Steve, and level himself out, before he had to sleep next to him in the mouth. 

“If you need help…” Steve started and Bucky nodded, reaching for the door knob.

“I know where you are,” he said, forcing a smile and knowing it probably looked as brittle as it felt before heading out to see exactly what was going on and clean up whatever mess there was.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come see me at [my tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/oh-i-swear-writes).  
> Questions/Anons/anything else are absolutely encouraged <3


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